Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 2,950 Shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 670,290 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,950 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Paramount Global worth $8,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paramount Global in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ossiam increased its position in Paramount Global by 57.2% in the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 2,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Paramount Global in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Paramount Global in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Paramount Global during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

Paramount Global Stock Performance

NASDAQ PARA opened at $12.96 on Wednesday. Paramount Global has a 1-year low of $9.95 and a 1-year high of $13.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a PE ratio of -1.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.51.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $7.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.14 billion. Paramount Global had a positive return on equity of 4.80% and a negative net margin of 19.09%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Paramount Global will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -2.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PARA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Benchmark lowered their price objective on Paramount Global from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Paramount Global from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Paramount Global from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on Paramount Global in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Paramount Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $12.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.67.

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.