The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Shares Sold by Eads & Heald Wealth Management

Eads & Heald Wealth Management reduced its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,731 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 454 shares during the period. Eads & Heald Wealth Management’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Certified Advisory Corp acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the second quarter worth $1,218,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Walt Disney in the 2nd quarter valued at about $355,673,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 61,919 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $6,148,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 32,610 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,238,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ValueAct Holdings L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. ValueAct Holdings L.P. now owns 6,133,631 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $609,008,000 after purchasing an additional 715,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE DIS opened at $108.72 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.76. The stock has a market cap of $196.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.12, a PEG ratio of 1.91 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 52 week low of $83.91 and a 52 week high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a 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 currently 36.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DIS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, November 15th. Five equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney 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 approximately $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.