New York State Common Retirement Fund Reduces Stock Position in Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its position in shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 300,366 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,000 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Paramount Global were worth $3,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Paramount Global by 140.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,395 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Paramount Global by 162.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Paramount Global by 129.0% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Paramount Global in the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Paramount Global by 102.4% in the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 7,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 3,654 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on PARA. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Thursday. Macquarie restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Monday, November 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Paramount Global from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Paramount Global from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paramount Global currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.10.

Paramount Global Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Paramount Global stock opened at $11.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.38, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Paramount Global has a 1 year low of $9.54 and a 1 year high of $14.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $10.81 and a 200 day moving average of $10.74.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $7.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. Paramount Global had a negative net margin of 18.89% and a positive return on equity of 5.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paramount Global will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently -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.