Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) by 1.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 559,491 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,633 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Paramount Global were worth $6,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paramount Global during the third quarter worth $25,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paramount Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Paramount Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Paramount Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Paramount Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PARA. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $9.50 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Paramount Global from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Paramount Global from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Paramount Global from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.29.

Paramount Global Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:PARA traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $11.48. The stock had a trading volume of 4,257,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,846,877. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.32. The company has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a PE ratio of -76.53, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.78. Paramount Global has a twelve month low of $9.54 and a twelve month high of $17.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.73 billion. Paramount Global had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 3.35%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Paramount Global will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -133.32%.

Paramount Global 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.