Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $2.39 Million Stock Position in Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) by 28.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 228,373 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,911 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Paramount Global were worth $2,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PARA shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Paramount Global from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Paramount Global from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.58.

Paramount Global Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PARA opened at $11.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.37, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. Paramount Global has a fifty-two week low of $9.54 and a fifty-two week high of $14.54. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.74.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last posted its earnings results 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). Paramount Global had a negative net margin of 18.89% and a positive return on equity of 5.81%. The company had revenue of $7.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. As a group, research 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 issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio is -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.