Artisan Partners, an investment management company, released its “Artisan Value Fund” first quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The robust US economy, a general disinflation trend, and increased corporate earnings pushed the US equity markets to a new all-time high in the first quarter. The fund’s Investor Class ARTLX, Advisor Class APDLX, and Institutional Class APHLX returned 8.65%, 8.71%, and 8.71% respectively, in the first quarter compared to an 8.99% return for the Russell 1000 Value Index. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the strategy to know its best picks in 2024.
Artisan Value Fund highlighted stocks like Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD), a media and entertainment company with a market capitalization of $18.867 billion. The one-month return of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) was -7.12%, and its shares lost 30.57% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 23, 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) stock closed at $7.70 per share.
Artisan Value Fund stated the following regarding Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“Our top and bottom individual contributors were each found in the communication service sector: Meta Platforms was up 37%, while Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) was down -23%. WBD is a global media and entertainment company that is the result of the 2022 spin-merger of Discovery and the WarnerMedia division of AT&T. The stock has remained weak as the company continues to navigate an evolving media landscape driven by the structural shift from linear TV networks and cable TV to direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming. The uncertainty around shifting industry economics is compounded by the many moving pieces related to WBD’s ongoing integration and restructuring post its merger. For its part, WBD has made solid progress on cost cutting, debt reduction and free cash flow generation, but recent quarterly results were disappointing due to falling advertising revenues in the networks business, and management chose to not provide guidance for 2024 due to its limited visibility. Additionally, WBD’s studios business, which is driven by hits at the box office, has been inconsistent, while WBD’s Max streaming service is still finding its footing. With respect to the DTC business, the company has multiple levers to drive growth. These include increasing penetration of ad-supported subscriptions, geographic expansion outside the US, enhancing the user experience via an improved Max app interface, stronger execution of new content development and the launch of its new sports DTC app scheduled for this fall that is a joint venture with Fox and Disney. Yes, there is much uncertainty, but there is also a lot of opportunity, and the company has a large content portfolio it can leverage. Selling at a 30% free cash flow yield, shares look like a bargain, and if any of the company’s initiatives are successful, shares could regain their luster.”
A movie theater auditorium filled with an audience enjoying a blockbuster film.
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:WBD) trailing 12 months revenue is $40.58 billion and year over year quarterly revenue growth rate is -6.90%. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 55 hedge fund portfolios held Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) at the end of the first quarter which was 56 in the previous quarter.
In another article, we discussed Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) and shared Longleaf Partners Fund’s views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
