Sawyer & Company Inc Cuts Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Sawyer & Company Inc cut its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,502 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 293 shares during the quarter. Walt Disney makes up 1.7% of Sawyer & Company Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Sawyer & Company Inc’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $4,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farallon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walt Disney during the second quarter valued at about $355,673,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Walt Disney by 12,574.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $329,585,000 after purchasing an additional 3,399,359 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 8.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after buying an additional 2,765,389 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 114.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $414,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 112.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $398,508,000 after buying an additional 2,188,610 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on DIS. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.54.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

NYSE DIS opened at $108.12 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $111.58 and a 200-day moving average of $99.51. The Walt Disney Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.91 and a fifty-two week high of $123.74. The stock has a market cap of $195.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. Walt Disney’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

Walt Disney Company 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.