Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Decreases Stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC reduced its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 77.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,018 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,614 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 81.5% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co lifted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 4,730.8% in the fourth quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co now owns 1,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 49.9% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. 59.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, insider Bruce Campbell sold 41,784 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 604,666 shares in the company, valued at $16,821,808.12. This trade represents a 6.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Fazal F. Merchant sold 35,000 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,411.72. This represents a 26.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 676,784 shares of company stock valued at $18,534,231 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WBD shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Monday, March 9th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $29.50 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, February 27th. 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. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.04.

Warner Bros. Discovery News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Warner Bros. Discovery signed a World Series of Poker broadcast deal, which adds another content partnership and could support its media and sports programming strategy. WBD signs World Series of Poker broadcast deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts noted WBD has been little changed since its last earnings report, with investors still waiting for a clearer operational turnaround. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Down 0.4% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Rebound?
• Neutral Sentiment: Paramount is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit aimed at blocking the Warner Bros. Discovery transaction, while other reports say states are preparing their own legal challenge, keeping the deal in limbo. U.S. states are preparing a lawsuit to block Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros
• Negative Sentiment: State attorneys general planning a lawsuit to block the Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is the biggest near-term concern, since it raises the odds of delay or even failure of the deal. Stock Market Today, June 5: Warner Bros. Discovery Falls on Reports of State Antitrust Challenge to Paramount Deal
• Negative Sentiment: Political scrutiny is increasing, with Senator Elizabeth Warren calling for a foreign-ownership review of the Paramount-WBD deal, adding another potential hurdle. Elizabeth Warren Calls For Foreign Ownership Review Of Paramount-WBD

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

Shares of WBD stock opened at $26.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.40. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.11 and a 12 month high of $30.00. The company has a market capitalization of $65.79 billion, a PE ratio of -37.49 and a beta of 1.54.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($1.07). Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 4.77% and a negative net margin of 4.67%.The firm had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. Warner Bros. Discovery’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -0.93 earnings per share 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.