Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD Shares Acquired by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,877,052 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 176,223 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.24% of Warner Bros. Discovery worth $114,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBD. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 262,477,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,007,993,000 after purchasing an additional 5,657,524 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,091,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,798,000 after acquiring an additional 551,548 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 44,574,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,824,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233,195 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery during the second quarter worth $306,848,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 4,639.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,788,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,066,000 after purchasing an additional 22,308,046 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Warner Bros. Discovery

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

• Positive Sentiment: Paramount added a ticking fee and other protections that reduce regulatory/timing risk and committed to cover the $2.8B Netflix breakup cost — making its $30/share hostile offer materially more attractive and increasing the chance shareholders could get a higher cash price. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Activist Ancora has built a ~ $200M stake and is threatening to vote against the Netflix deal and launch a proxy fight unless the board seriously considers Paramount’s improved proposal — increasing the odds of a bidding contest or board re?engagement. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Market pricing reflects growing confidence in a competing outcome: WBD is trading above the signed Netflix floor ($27.75), narrowing the arbitrage spread and signaling investor belief Paramount could prevail or force better terms. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are re?assessing WBD valuation after recent share momentum and a mixed historical return profile — useful context for investors but not an immediate deal catalyst. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Key near?term catalysts to watch that could swing the stock: WBD Q4 earnings (Feb. 26), Paramount’s tender expiration (March 2), and the shareholder vote on the Netflix transaction (expected in April). These dates will drive volatility and final deal direction.
• Negative Sentiment: WBD already has a signed, board?recommended agreement with Netflix at $27.75/share, which establishes a contractual floor and makes a switch to Paramount non?trivial — regulatory risk and the existing contract still cap downside and complicate a takeover flip. Read More.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 242,994 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total transaction of $7,168,323.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 918,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,108,730. The trade was a 20.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Lori C. Locke sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.62, for a total value of $138,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 110,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,040,520.08. This trade represents a 4.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 267,116 shares of company stock worth $7,781,731. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $29.00 target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $13.00 to $14.75 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Guggenheim cut Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings lowered Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.94.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ WBD opened at $27.99 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $28.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.38. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.52 and a 12 month high of $30.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $69.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 147.30 and a beta of 1.64.

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.