Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. Boosts Position in Discovery Communications, Inc. (DISCA)

Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of Discovery Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA) by 79.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,745 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,066 shares during the period. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A.’s holdings in Discovery Communications were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Discovery Communications by 2.3% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 17,843,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $519,072,000 after buying an additional 399,171 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Discovery Communications by 2.4% in the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 17,688,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $514,561,000 after buying an additional 406,646 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Discovery Communications by 5.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,803,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,718,000 after buying an additional 803,848 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Discovery Communications by 20.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 10,967,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,034,000 after buying an additional 1,848,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Discovery Communications by 2,394.5% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,346,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,875,000 after buying an additional 8,971,338 shares in the last quarter. 44.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Discovery Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA) opened at 22.76 on Wednesday. Discovery Communications, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.72 and a 52 week high of $30.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $25.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.05. The company has a market cap of $12.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 1.59.

Discovery Communications (NASDAQ:DISCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 31st. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.04. Discovery Communications had a net margin of 16.88% and a return on equity of 22.74%. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Discovery Communications, Inc. will post $2.23 EPS for the current year.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TheStreet lowered Discovery Communications from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. MKM Partners reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $26.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Discovery Communications in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Cowen and Company reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Discovery Communications in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Barrington Research reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Discovery Communications in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Pivotal Research raised Discovery Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.47.

In other news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels bought 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $325,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,500. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director S Decker Anstrom bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.05 per share, with a total value of $230,500.00. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,016,200. 5.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Discovery Communications

Discovery Communications, Inc (Discovery) is a global media company. The Company provides content across multiple distribution platforms, including pay-television (pay-TV), free-to-air (FTA) and broadcast television, Websites, digital distribution arrangements and content licensing agreements. Its segments include U.S.

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