Lafayette Investments Inc. Sells 200 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Lafayette Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,963 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $3,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 0.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,887,754 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $12,148,402,000 after purchasing an additional 994,575 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 46,172,567 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $4,011,473,000 after acquiring an additional 5,499,014 shares during the last quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. lifted its position in Walt Disney by 411.6% during the third quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. now owns 32,868,307 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,663,976,000 after purchasing an additional 26,443,257 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Walt Disney by 10.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 24,859,476 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,014,861,000 after purchasing an additional 2,384,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walt Disney by 109,924.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,666,275 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,056,126,000 after purchasing an additional 23,644,765 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total value of $226,405.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $536,448. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walt Disney Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DIS traded down $0.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $111.89. The stock had a trading volume of 2,837,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,018,797. The Walt Disney Company has a one year low of $78.73 and a one year high of $123.74. The company has a market capitalization of $205.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.07, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.35.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.25. Walt Disney had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The business had revenue of $23.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Walt Disney from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.54.

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.