The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Shares Sold by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC cut its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,672 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 1,265 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DIS. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 399 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Walt Disney in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. First PREMIER Bank grew its position in Walt Disney by 98.1% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DIS. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.52.

Walt Disney Price Performance

DIS stock opened at $114.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $206.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.10, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $112.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.66. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.90%.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total transaction of $42,667,242.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.