Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,864,153 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,099,717 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.24% of Warner Bros. Discovery worth $114,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 262,477,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,007,993,000 after acquiring an additional 5,657,524 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.9% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 44,574,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233,195 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the second quarter worth approximately $306,848,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 4,639.8% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Moffett Nathanson upped their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Barrington Research downgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $16.00 to $23.50 in a report on Friday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.08.

More Warner Bros. Discovery News

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

• Positive Sentiment: An Argus analyst reiterated a positive outlook on WBD, saying the stock is expected to rise—this provides a near-term bullish analyst catalyst that can support the share price. Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Argus Analyst Says
• Positive Sentiment: Warner Bros. Discovery struck a promotional/distribution partnership with X around the Winter Olympics—such platform deals can broaden reach and ad inventory, supporting ad revenue and streaming promotional efforts. Warner Bros. Discovery Partners With X On Winter Olympics
• Positive Sentiment: Market speculation and trading flow show bets around a possible Warner Bros.–Netflix deal; heightened positioning can amplify moves if deal optimism increases. (High short interest in WBD also raises volatility.) Wall Street traders show their hands with bets on Warner Bros. Discovery-Netflix deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say Barry Diller expressed interest in buying CNN from WBD, but WBD publicly said CNN is not for sale and the idea did not advance to the board—this creates occasional M&A chatter but no concrete asset-sale catalyst. Barry Diller Told Warner Discovery He’s Interested in Buying CNN
• Neutral Sentiment: Profiles and commentary on potential leadership/strategy moves (e.g., coverage of David Ellison’s plans) add background on governance and strategic options but contain limited immediate financial detail. What Is David Ellison’s Warner Bros. Endgame?
• Negative Sentiment: Filmmakers and small theaters have urged state attorneys general to block the reported Netflix–Warner Bros. deal—this raises regulatory/legal risk that could scuttle or materially delay any transaction and weigh on the stock. State AGs urged by filmmakers, small theaters to block Netflix-Warner Bros. deal: report
• Negative Sentiment: Industry reporting highlights weakening box-office performance for major franchise films—this is a headwind for WBD’s theatrical revenue and franchise monetization, increasing near-term revenue uncertainty. Hollywood has an IP problem: Box office sales are banking on franchise hits that keep falling flat

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

Warner Bros. Discovery stock opened at $27.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.24 billion, a PE ratio of 144.95 and a beta of 1.56. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a one year low of $7.52 and a one year high of $30.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.02). Warner Bros. Discovery had a net margin of 1.28% and a return on equity of 1.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 242,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total value of $7,168,323.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 918,940 shares in the company, valued at $27,108,730. The trade was a 20.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Lori C. Locke sold 4,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.92, for a total value of $119,208.24. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 100,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,919,821.04. This represents a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 267,116 shares of company stock worth $7,781,731 in the last ninety days. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.