Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Trims Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lessened its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 52.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,871 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 8,671 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DIS. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Walt Disney in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 38.1% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 399 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 98.1% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Walt Disney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on DIS shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.52.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walt Disney Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:DIS opened at $113.18 on Tuesday. The Walt Disney Company has a 12-month low of $83.91 and a 12-month high of $123.74. The firm has a market cap of $204.97 billion, a PE ratio of 41.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $112.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.11.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its earnings results 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. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The firm had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

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