Swiss National Bank Buys 197,300 Shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) by 12.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,765,188 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 197,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Paramount Global were worth $18,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paramount Global by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,090,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $730,805,000 after acquiring an additional 3,803,928 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paramount Global by 40.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 5,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in shares of Paramount Global by 33.9% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 406,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,790,000 after purchasing an additional 103,103 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co. bought a new position in Paramount Global in the 1st quarter worth approximately $165,000. Finally, Freestone Capital Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Paramount Global during the 1st quarter valued at $208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

Paramount Global Stock Up 5.0 %

Shares of PARA opened at $11.11 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.02. Paramount Global has a 1 year low of $9.54 and a 1 year high of $17.50.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $6.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. Paramount Global’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Paramount Global will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.