North Dakota State Investment Board Takes Position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 132,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,831,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WBD. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 304.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 68,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 51,920 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 50.5% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 63,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $679,000 after acquiring an additional 21,228 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 3,779 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 91.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 116,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 55,837 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 111,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,277,000 after acquiring an additional 4,062 shares during the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

NASDAQ WBD opened at $26.98 on Monday. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.82 and a fifty-two week high of $30.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.94. The stock has a market cap of $67.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.54 and a beta of 1.57.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($1.07). The business had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.89 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative net margin of 4.67% and a negative return on equity of 4.77%. Warner Bros. Discovery’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -0.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on WBD shares. Zacks Research cut Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Argus cut their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $23.50 to $27.75 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Huber Research lowered shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, insider Bruce Campbell sold 41,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.82, for a total transaction of $1,162,430.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 604,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,821,808.12. The trade was a 6.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Fazal F. Merchant sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.48, for a total transaction of $961,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 95,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,411.72. This trade represents a 26.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 8,206,827 shares of company stock valued at $230,674,025 over the last quarter. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Warner Bros. Discovery Profile

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) is a global media and entertainment company formed when WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc combined their businesses in 2022. Headquartered in New York City, the company assembles a broad portfolio of film and television production, linear and cable networks, streaming services and consumer distribution operations. Its assets span well-known studio brands, premium scripted and unscripted programming, news and factual entertainment, and licensed franchise properties.

The company’s core activities include film and television production and distribution through units such as Warner Bros.