Hartford Financial Management Inc. Sells 5,849 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Hartford Financial Management Inc. reduced its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 40,937 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 5,849 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $4,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DIS. Farmers Trust Co. increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 8,483 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co increased its stake in Walt Disney by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 18,869 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,809,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $1,121,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connable Office Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 0.3% in the 3rd 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. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the company’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. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,870.70. This trade represents a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 insiders.

Walt Disney Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $113.30 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $112.43 and a 200-day moving average of $100.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.81, a PEG ratio of 2.02 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 12 month low of $83.91 and a 12 month high of $123.74.

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 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect 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 was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on DIS shares. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective 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. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Five 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Walt Disney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.52.

About Walt Disney

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.