Avalon Capital Management Decreases Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Avalon Capital Management lowered its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,618 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 757 shares during the period. Avalon Capital Management’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $2,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL increased its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 331,136 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $36,872,000 after purchasing an additional 2,952 shares during the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Walt Disney during the fourth quarter worth about $446,000. Exchange Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 43,131 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $4,803,000 after acquiring an additional 4,218 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Walt Disney by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,104,295 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,904,563,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300,912 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on DIS. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.44.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Walt Disney stock opened at $111.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $110.68 and a 200-day moving average of $102.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.22, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a 52-week low of $83.91 and a 52-week high of $123.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.57%.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. The trade was a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Profile

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.