Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Sells 39,328 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lessened its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 11.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 313,244 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 39,328 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $31,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 84.6% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,000,267 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $244,754,000 after purchasing an additional 916,772 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the first quarter worth about $1,490,492,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Walt Disney by 4.2% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 556,658 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $68,113,000 after purchasing an additional 22,568 shares in the last quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. lifted its position in Walt Disney by 41.3% during the first quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 175,900 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $21,523,000 after purchasing an additional 51,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Walt Disney by 555.9% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 956,788 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $117,599,000 after buying an additional 810,923 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DIS has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $128.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Macquarie reduced their price objective on Walt Disney from $107.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Moffett Nathanson decreased their price objective on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Loop Capital cut their target price on Walt Disney from $139.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $130.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Calvin Mcdonald acquired 11,756 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $85.06 per share, for a total transaction of $999,965.36. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 22,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,897,943.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of DIS traded down $0.71 on Friday, reaching $87.94. The stock had a trading volume of 7,791,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,356,279. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.22. The Walt Disney Company has a 12-month low of $78.73 and a 12-month high of $123.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The entertainment giant reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $23.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.08 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 8.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.92 EPS for the current year.

About Walt Disney

The Walt Disney Company operates as an entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Entertainment, Sports, and Experiences. The company produces and distributes film and television video streaming content under the ABC Television Network, Disney, Freeform, FX, Fox, National Geographic, and Star brand television channels, as well as ABC television stations and A+E television networks; and produces original content under the ABC Signature, Disney Branded Television, FX Productions, Lucasfilm, Marvel, National Geographic Studios, Pixar, Searchlight Pictures, Twentieth Century Studios, 20th Television, and Walt Disney Pictures banners.