Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,826,825 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,890,825 shares during the quarter. Warner Bros. Discovery comprises 1.2% of Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC owned 0.11% of Warner Bros. Discovery worth $55,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 49.9% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 152.1% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery during the second quarter worth $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 66.5% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 1,242.2% in the third quarter. Crews Bank & Trust now owns 1,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 617,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total value of $17,446,635.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 691,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,536,852.50. This represents a 47.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bruce Campbell sold 1,580,331 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $44,249,268.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 690,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,320,784. This represents a 69.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,777,159 shares of company stock valued at $219,427,326. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Key Warner Bros. Discovery News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Paramount/Skydance agreed to buy WBD assets in a deal that could deliver a takeover premium and simplify WBD’s portfolio — this is the primary bullish catalyst for shareholders. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Buyer leadership (David Ellison/Paramount/Skydance) publicly pledges to keep CNN independent, reducing regulatory and integration risk that might otherwise erode deal value. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and M&A presentations are framing the transaction as a strategic reset that could unlock value for WBD shareholders (materials outline bidder dynamics and potential synergies). Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Netflix has stepped back from the WBD bidding war and is refocusing on core streaming strategy — removes one potential suitor but also leaves bidders like Paramount to set the deal terms. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage notes Netflix received cash from its failed WBD bid and may redeploy capital elsewhere; this is relevant to the competitive landscape but not directly to WBD’s valuation. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-party market activity (reports of investors buying Netflix bonds and other opportunistic moves) reflects investor jockeying around the media deal but is peripheral to WBD’s fundamentals. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large, coordinated insider selling reported this week (CEO David Zaslav sold ~4.0M shares; CFO and other senior execs also sold large blocks) — big disposals can pressure sentiment and suggest insiders are taking liquidity or reducing exposure ahead of/after deal activity. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional insider sales (e.g., Amy Girdwood) and multiple large Form 4s amplify the selling signal and may trigger short-term profit-taking. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst pressure: Moffett Nathanson downgraded WBD to neutral (maintains $31 target) and Argus published a pessimistic forecast — bearish notes can cap the stock’s near-term upside and encourage selling. Read More. • Read More.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

WBD opened at $27.93 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.52 and a 1 year high of $30.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.21 billion, a PE ratio of 96.31 and a beta of 1.60.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.20) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $31.00 target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Huber Research downgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Arete Research reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $31.25 price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $25.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.99.

Warner Bros. Discovery 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.