Violich Capital Management Inc. Sells 350 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Violich Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,774 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DIS. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 92,457 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $10,295,000 after purchasing an additional 4,790 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 220,465 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $24,658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,911 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 10,483 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511 shares during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 42,656 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $4,750,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on DIS shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.85.

Walt Disney Trading Down 1.5 %

DIS opened at $109.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a 12 month low of $83.91 and a 12 month high of $123.74. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 9.95%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is presently 32.57%.

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.