Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD Shares Acquired by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 334.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 421,832 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 324,742 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $11,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WBD. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,123,807,000. Duquesne Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 2nd quarter valued at $74,916,000. Amundi increased its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 59.6% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 15,523,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,189,000 after purchasing an additional 5,798,592 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the 3rd quarter worth $100,135,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 509.5% in the 4th quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 5,981,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,396,000 after buying an additional 5,000,437 shares in the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Warner Bros. Discovery News

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

• Positive Sentiment: WBD continues to trade with takeover-related optimism, as Paramount says it still intends to close the deal by the end of September despite the new lawsuits. Paramount still plans to close WBD merger by end of September despite lawsuit
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock has also seen unusually heavy call-option activity, suggesting traders are positioning for continued merger volatility. Paramount Skydance (PSKY) Stock Faces New Risk as 12 States Sue to Block $110 Billion Warner Bros. Deal
• Negative Sentiment: The merger now faces multiple antitrust challenges from state officials and the Writers Guild, which could delay or block the deal and pressure WBD if the takeover premium fades. Hollywood Writers Sue to Block Paramount-Warner Deal

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WBD shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Seaport Research Partners raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, June 29th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Friday, April 24th. Huber Research raised Warner Bros. Discovery from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Zacks Research raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.04.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Up 1.4%

WBD opened at $27.48 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $68.90 billion, a PE ratio of -39.26 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.76 and a fifty-two week high of $30.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.85 and a 200-day moving average of $27.52.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) 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 analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Bros. Discovery Company 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.