The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council trimmed its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 281,713 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 10,100 shares during the period. Walt Disney comprises 0.5% of South Dakota Investment Council’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $25,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trian Fund Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 411.6% during the third quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. now owns 32,868,307 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,663,976,000 after purchasing an additional 26,443,257 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the third quarter worth $326,171,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 8,681.3% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,349,709 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $302,445,000 after buying an additional 3,311,563 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in Walt Disney by 21.0% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 14,416,343 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,168,444,000 after purchasing an additional 2,505,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Walt Disney by 10.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 24,859,476 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,014,861,000 after purchasing an additional 2,384,407 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on DIS shares. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Walt Disney from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $95.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.08.

Walt Disney Trading Up 1.5 %

DIS stock traded up $1.73 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $113.72. 6,830,656 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,972,034. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The Walt Disney Company has a 52-week low of $78.73 and a 52-week high of $123.74. The company has a market cap of $208.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $114.10 and its 200-day moving average is $99.27.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $23.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.71 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.52%.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total transaction of $226,405.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $536,448. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by 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.