abrdn plc Acquires 149,672 Shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

abrdn plc increased its holdings in shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 889,923 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 149,672 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned 0.14% of Paramount Global worth $13,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Paramount Global by 15.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,299,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,767,173 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC increased its stake in Paramount Global by 18.0% in the third quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 11,330,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731,714 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Paramount Global by 9.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,832,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272,851 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Paramount Global in the third quarter valued at approximately $8,850,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Paramount Global by 541.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 708,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,481,000 after purchasing an additional 598,235 shares in the last quarter. 73.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on PARA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Paramount Global from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Benchmark dropped their price objective on shares of Paramount Global from $30.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Paramount Global from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Paramount Global from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.79.

Paramount Global Stock Performance

Shares of PARA opened at $12.18 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $11.49 and a 200-day moving average of $12.88. Paramount Global has a one year low of $10.12 and a one year high of $24.00. The company has a market cap of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of -11.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.09. Paramount Global had a negative net margin of 2.05% and a positive return on equity of 1.78%. The company had revenue of $7.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.08 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Paramount Global will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -19.61%.

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.