Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 9.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 18,820,858 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,658,317 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $367,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 281,214,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,492,112,000 after purchasing an additional 18,736,600 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,091,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,798,000 after purchasing an additional 551,548 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 44,574,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $510,824,000 after buying an additional 1,233,195 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the second quarter valued at approximately $306,848,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 4,639.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,788,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,066,000 after buying an additional 22,308,046 shares during the period. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WBD shares. 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 research note on Tuesday. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $31.00 price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Guggenheim cut Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.34.

More Warner Bros. Discovery News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Paramount + Skydance signed a definitive agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, a transformational M&A outcome that creates a likely takeover premium and a clearer strategic path (streaming consolidation, cable assets retained). This deal is the principal driver pushing shares higher. Paramount Skydance Deal Reshapes Warner Bros Discovery Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Buyer-side commentary aims to reassure regulators and stakeholders: David Ellison (Paramount/Skydance) says CNN will operate independently under the new ownership, attempting to reduce political/regulatory friction that could slow or complicate the deal. David Ellison Vows CNN Will Operate Independently
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and commentary pieces are parsing the post-deal landscape (streaming subscribers, asset carve-outs, regulatory timeline); these help set expectations for deal close timing and integration risks but are not new catalysts by themselves. M&A Call / Slideshow
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider sales by multiple senior executives — CEO David Zaslav (4,004,149 shares, ~$113M), CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels (two sales totaling ~991,903 shares, ~$28M), and several other insiders — have been disclosed this week. Combined transactions exceed $200M, which investors may view as profit-taking or a signal the deal sponsors are cashing out; these filings are pressuring sentiment despite the takeover premium. Coverage of the executive sell-off is widespread. David Zaslav Cashing In Over $100 Million
• Negative Sentiment: An Argus research note issued a pessimistic forecast for WBD’s stock price, highlighting downside scenarios and adding headwinds to sentiment that could limit upside ahead of deal close or extend to post-close valuation concerns. Argus Issues Pessimistic Forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Miscellaneous coverage (Netflix withdrawing a bid earlier, third-party debt trades reported in the press) provides context on the competitive/bid process but is unlikely to change the immediate takeover trajectory. Trump Bought Netflix Bonds Amid Paramount’s Fight

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WBD opened at $28.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.52 and a fifty-two week high of $30.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $28.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.11. The firm has a market cap of $69.38 billion, a PE ratio of 96.56 and a beta of 1.60.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.19). Warner Bros. Discovery had a net margin of 1.95% and a return on equity of 1.98%. The business had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.20) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, insider Gerhard Zeiler sold 600,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.02, for a total transaction of $16,812,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 672,649 shares in the company, valued at $18,847,624.98. This represents a 47.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David Zaslav sold 4,004,149 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.26, for a total value of $113,157,250.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 7,200,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,489,719.02. This represents a 35.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 7,782,159 shares of company stock worth $219,565,426 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

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.