Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Increases Stock Position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 509.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,981,814 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,000,437 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $172,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 81.5% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 4,730.8% during the 4th quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co now owns 1,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, Director Fazal F. Merchant sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.48, for a total transaction of $961,800.00. Following the sale, the director owned 95,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,411.72. This trade represents a 26.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul A. Gould sold 600,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.35, for a total transaction of $16,410,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 244,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,683,163.95. The trade was a 71.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WBD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $23.50 to $27.75 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Monday, March 9th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Friday, February 27th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.04.

More Warner Bros. Discovery News

Here are the key news stories impacting Warner Bros. Discovery this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The DOJ reportedly cleared Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, removing a key antitrust obstacle and improving the chances the deal closes. Justice Department says Paramount’s Warner deal wouldn’t harm competition
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that the merger was approved helped fuel speculation that Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders could benefit from a takeover premium if the deal advances. Paramount-WBD merger wins approval from DOJ, source says
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders rejected David Zaslav’s proposed $165 million pay package for 2025 in a non-binding vote, which adds governance noise but is not likely to change the near-term merger story. Warner Bros. Shareholders Reject David Zaslav’s $165 Million Pay Package for 2025

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

WBD opened at $26.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $67.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.54 and a beta of 1.54. The company’s 50 day moving average is $27.12 and its 200 day moving average is $27.53. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.98 and a 12-month high of $30.00.

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

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.