Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 125,965 Shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) by 640.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 145,638 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 125,965 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Paramount Global were worth $1,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 158,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 4,001 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in Paramount Global by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 104,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 5,400 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Paramount Global by 798.0% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 684,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,110,000 after acquiring an additional 608,100 shares during the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Paramount Global by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 338,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,520,000 after acquiring an additional 28,688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Paramount Global by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,150,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,901,000 after acquiring an additional 143,056 shares during the last quarter. 73.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paramount Global Stock Performance

PARA opened at $10.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $10.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.29. 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 $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -68.93, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.75.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.40. Paramount Global had a negative net margin of 17.62% and a positive return on equity of 4.88%. The firm had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. On average, analysts expect that Paramount Global will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Paramount Global’s payout ratio is -133.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PARA has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Paramount Global from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Paramount Global from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $10.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Paramount Global from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Paramount Global in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $9.50 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Paramount Global from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.18.

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.