The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Shares Sold by Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA

Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA reduced its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 26.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,509 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 4,861 shares during the quarter. Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walt Disney during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 2,655 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 81,610 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $9,087,000 after buying an additional 6,490 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 4,613 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the period. Finally, Robbins Farley boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 33,636 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,745,000 after buying an additional 1,151 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walt Disney Price Performance

NYSE:DIS opened at $114.29 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $112.34 and a 200-day moving average of $100.66. The company has a market capitalization of $206.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.25, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a 52 week low of $83.91 and a 52 week high of $123.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.52.

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.