Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Decreases Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas reduced its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,173 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 303 shares during the quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings in Walt Disney were worth $576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farmers Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 8,483 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 3,412 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co grew its position in Walt Disney by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 18,869 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,809,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC increased its stake in Walt Disney by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 11,657 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connable Office Inc. raised its holdings in Walt Disney by 0.3% in the third quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 35,048 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,371,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of DIS stock opened at $112.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The Walt Disney Company has a one year low of $83.91 and a one year high of $123.74. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $112.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.07. The company has a market capitalization of $203.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.42, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is 36.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on DIS shares. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total value of $42,667,242.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. The trade was a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.