Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 39,224 Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 5.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 710,954 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,224 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $19,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WBD. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 304.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 68,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 51,920 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 50.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 63,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $679,000 after purchasing an additional 21,228 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 6.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 3,779 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 91.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 116,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 55,837 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.8% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 111,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,277,000 after purchasing an additional 4,062 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WBD shares. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 29th. 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. Huber Research upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Warner Bros. Discovery currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.04.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WBD opened at $27.26 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $26.85 and a 200 day moving average of $27.50. 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 stock has a market cap of $68.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.94 and a beta of 1.54. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.76 and a 12 month high of $30.00.

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 firm 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 revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

More Warner Bros. Discovery News

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

• Negative Sentiment: 12 Democratic-led states have filed an antitrust lawsuit to block the Paramount-WBD deal, arguing it would reduce competition, hurt theaters, and potentially raise consumer prices. Plot Twist: 12 States Could Stall the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Mega-Merger
• Negative Sentiment: The Writers Guild of America also sued to stop the merger, adding another legal hurdle and increasing the odds of a drawn-out court fight. Hollywood Writers Sue to Block Paramount-Warner Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Paramount’s lawyers say they still expect the deal to close on schedule, so some investors may be viewing the lawsuits as a delay rather than a full cancellation. Paramount still plans to close WBD merger by end of September despite lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav sold about $59 million of WBD stock, which may weigh on sentiment even though the sale was reportedly pre-planned. David Zaslav sells $59 million in Warner Bros. Discovery stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerages continue to rate WBD around “Hold,” suggesting analysts are waiting for more clarity on the merger and legal outcome before turning more constructive.

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.