South Dakota Investment Council Sells 261,350 Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

South Dakota Investment Council reduced its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 59.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 177,398 shares of the company’s stock after selling 261,350 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $3,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WBD. Concord Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 49.9% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 91,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,785,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.1% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Warner Bros. Discovery News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Board-backed, revised $31-per-share cash bid from Paramount Skydance gives WBD shareholders a clear takeout path and strengthens the likelihood of a deal closing; that’s a near-term bullish catalyst. Zacks: PSKY revised proposal
• Positive Sentiment: Paramount Skydance signed a definitive agreement to acquire WBD, combining streaming assets and keeping key cable networks — the transaction carries a cash premium that supports WBD’s current rally. Yahoo Finance: Paramount Skydance deal
• Positive Sentiment: FCC Chair Brendan Carr described the deal as “cleaner” than Netflix’s proposal and said it should be approved quickly — favorable regulator commentary reduces execution uncertainty. CNBC: FCC chair supportive
• Neutral Sentiment: Argus lowered its price target slightly (from $32 to $31) but kept a Buy rating, signaling that analysts still see upside from the deal price despite modestly tempered expectations. MarketScreener: Argus adjusts PT
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces note Netflix formally exited the bidding; that removes a rival bidder (reducing upside from an auction) but also removes a complex political/regulatory variable — mixed implications for value. MarketBeat: Netflix exits
• Negative Sentiment: Fitch downgraded Paramount-related credit ratings to junk after the acquisition move, and S&P put Paramount on CreditWatch Negative — higher financing costs and tighter covenants raise risk that deal economics or timing could be affected. Reuters: Fitch downgrades Paramount
• Negative Sentiment: CEO David Zaslav and other executives sold large blocks of WBD stock after the deal was clinched (reported >$100M for Zaslav) — sizable insider sales can be perceived as profit-taking and may cap near-term upside. Deadline: Zaslav sells shares
• Negative Sentiment: Industry pushback and filmmaker concerns about consolidation, plus media coverage of political/financial entanglements (e.g., reports around bond purchases and outside actors), add reputational and regulatory noise that could complicate approvals. Hollywood Reporter: political/financial noise

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barrington Research downgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $20.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $29.00 target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $13.00 to $14.75 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.34.

Insider Activity at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 242,994 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 918,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,108,730. This trade represents a 20.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Lori C. Locke sold 4,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.92, for a total value of $119,208.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 100,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,919,821.04. This trade represents a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 252,116 shares of company stock valued at $7,425,631 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock opened at $27.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.08. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.52 and a 1 year high of $30.00. The company has a market capitalization of $69.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.38 and a beta of 1.60.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.33 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a net margin of 1.95% and a return on equity of 1.98%. Warner Bros. Discovery’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.20) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 EPS for the current year.

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.