The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Stake in Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) by 26.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 493,429 shares of the company’s stock after selling 178,016 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.07% of Paramount Global worth $5,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PARA. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paramount Global by 162.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 129.0% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paramount Global in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Paramount Global during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Paramount Global during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 73.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Macquarie restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com raised Paramount Global from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Paramount Global from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Paramount Global in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Paramount Global from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paramount Global presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.40.

Paramount Global Stock Performance

PARA stock opened at $10.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Paramount Global has a 1 year low of $9.54 and a 1 year high of $17.50. The company has a market cap of $7.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $10.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.89.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.25. Paramount Global had a positive return on equity of 5.81% and a negative net margin of 18.89%. The business had revenue of $6.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paramount Global will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Paramount Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently -2.43%.

Paramount Global Profile

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.