Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stock Position in Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) by 40.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 275,743 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 80,053 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Paramount Global were worth $2,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Paramount Global by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,743,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,993,000 after purchasing an additional 348,298 shares during the last quarter. Wilsey Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paramount Global by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Wilsey Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,902,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,898,000 after purchasing an additional 265,408 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,586,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,973,000 after buying an additional 908,515 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Paramount Global during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,457,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Paramount Global by 22.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 683,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,258,000 after buying an additional 124,740 shares during the last quarter. 73.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paramount Global Stock Down 2.1 %

PARA opened at $10.69 on Friday. Paramount Global has a 1-year low of $9.54 and a 1-year high of $14.54. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a PE ratio of -1.30, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.31.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $7.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Paramount Global had a negative net margin of 18.89% and a positive return on equity of 5.81%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Paramount Global will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Paramount Global Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio is -2.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PARA. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Monday, April 7th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Paramount Global from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Paramount Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.09.

About Paramount Global

Paramount Global operates as a media, streaming, and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through TV Media, Direct-to-Consumer, and Filmed Entertainment segments. The TV Media segment operates CBS Television Network, a domestic broadcast television network; CBS Stations, a television station; and international free-to-air networks comprising Network 10, Channel 5, Telefe, and Chilevisión; domestic premium and basic cable networks, such as Paramount+ with Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, The Smithsonian Channel, Nickelodeon, BET Media Group, and CBS Sports Network; and international extensions of these brands.