Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) Shares Acquired by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its position in Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) by 11.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 41,431 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,178 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Paramount Global were worth $440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PARA. Lingotto Investment Management LLP raised its position in shares of Paramount Global by 628.8% in the second quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 29,937,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,046,000 after acquiring an additional 25,829,185 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paramount Global by 6.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,090,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $730,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,803,928 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Paramount Global by 323.5% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 2,754,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,103,938 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Paramount Global by 16.5% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 14,042,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,899,000 after purchasing an additional 1,992,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Paramount Global by 602.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

Paramount Global Stock Performance

Paramount Global stock opened at $10.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.03. Paramount Global has a 1-year low of $9.54 and a 1-year high of $17.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.74.

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

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -2.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Macquarie reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Paramount Global from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Paramount Global from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Paramount Global from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.40.

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.