Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Trims Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC reduced its position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 230,644 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 14,045 shares during the period. Walt Disney makes up 1.7% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $25,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 66,744 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $6,420,000 after purchasing an additional 5,184 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,411,205 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,001,454,000 after purchasing an additional 114,701 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 476.0% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 12,379 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 10,230 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the 3rd quarter valued at $14,079,000. Finally, Lmcg Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 147,353 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $14,174,000 after acquiring an additional 23,116 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DIS shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walt Disney Stock Down 1.2 %

DIS traded down $1.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $108.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,284,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,017,289. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.02, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $110.85 and its 200-day moving average is $99.40.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is 36.90%.

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.