The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $6.98 Million Stock Position in Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) by 65.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 671,445 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 266,160 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.10% of Paramount Global worth $6,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PARA. MBB Public Markets I LLC boosted its holdings in Paramount Global by 145.9% during the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 35,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 21,051 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in Paramount Global during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $114,000. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP grew its holdings in Paramount Global by 8.6% during the second quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 64,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $673,000 after purchasing an additional 5,123 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. increased its stake in Paramount Global by 189.8% in the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 56,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 37,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Paramount Global by 602.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,783,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529,719 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

Paramount Global Stock Up 0.7 %

PARA stock opened at $10.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -70.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.75. Paramount Global has a twelve month low of $9.54 and a twelve month high of $17.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $10.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.40. Paramount Global had a negative net margin of 17.62% and a positive return on equity of 4.88%. The business had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. Analysts anticipate that Paramount Global will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paramount Global Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Paramount Global’s payout ratio is -133.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on PARA. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Paramount Global from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Paramount Global from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com cut Paramount Global from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $9.50 price target for the company. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Friday, August 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.25.

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.