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

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA - Free Report) by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PARA. Lingotto Investment Management LLP lifted its position in Paramount Global by 628.8% during the second quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 29,937,007 shares of the company's stock worth $311,046,000 after buying an additional 25,829,185 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Paramount Global by 16.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 14,042,265 shares of the company's stock valued at $145,899,000 after acquiring an additional 1,992,576 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 16.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,394,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,533,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030,592 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Paramount Global by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,724,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,698,000 after purchasing an additional 225,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 602.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,783,489 shares of the company's stock worth $18,530,000 after buying an additional 1,529,719 shares during the last quarter. 73.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PARA. StockNews.com raised shares of Paramount Global from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Macquarie reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Monday, November 11th. 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Monday, November 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.40.

Paramount Global Stock Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ:PARA traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $10.99. 7,609,361 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,723,297. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Paramount Global has a fifty-two week low of $9.54 and a fifty-two week high of $17.50. The company has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of -1.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.89.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $6.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.94 billion. Paramount Global had a positive return on equity of 5.81% and a negative net margin of 18.89%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paramount Global will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Paramount Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2.43%.

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.