Vestcor Inc Purchases 135,536 Shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

Vestcor Inc lifted its stake in Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA - Free Report) by 1,475.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,725 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 135,536 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Paramount Global were worth $1,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PARA. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Paramount Global by 25.9% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 38,415 shares of the company's stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 7,908 shares during the period. Executive Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paramount Global in the 3rd quarter valued at $160,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 216,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,301,000 after buying an additional 37,868 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paramount Global in the 3rd quarter valued at $692,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in Paramount Global by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 38,751 shares of the company's stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the period. 73.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PARA shares. Guggenheim decreased their target price on 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 upgraded Paramount Global from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Paramount Global from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Macquarie reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Monday, November 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.43.

Paramount Global Stock Performance

Shares of PARA stock traded up $0.44 on Thursday, reaching $11.63. The stock had a trading volume of 11,268,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,649,739. Paramount Global has a 12 month low of $9.54 and a 12 month high of $16.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.71. The firm's 50-day moving average is $10.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $6.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Paramount Global will post 1.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paramount Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Paramount Global's dividend payout ratio is -2.43%.

Paramount Global Company 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.