Norges Bank Takes Position in Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,321,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,202,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,040,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $701,242,000 after purchasing an additional 761,561 shares in the last quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP lifted its stake in Paramount Global by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 44,753,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,120,000 after acquiring an additional 1,593,579 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Paramount Global by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 44,154,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,695,000 after acquiring an additional 6,848,037 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Paramount Global by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,842,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,606,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Paramount Global in the 4th quarter valued at about $146,230,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on PARA shares. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Sunday, March 30th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Paramount Global from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Paramount Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $12.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.09.

Paramount Global Price Performance

Shares of Paramount Global stock opened at $11.07 on Friday. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.35, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.60. Paramount Global has a 1-year low of $9.54 and a 1-year high of $14.54.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $7.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Paramount Global had a positive return on equity of 5.81% and a negative net margin of 18.89%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Paramount Global will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Paramount Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently -2.15%.

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.