The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Shares Sold by Marco Investment Management LLC

Marco Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 65,084 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 2,975 shares during the period. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $5,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 0.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,887,754 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $12,148,402,000 after acquiring an additional 994,575 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 0.4% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,318,444 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,592,010,000 after acquiring an additional 195,512 shares during the period. Trian Fund Management L.P. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $2,663,976,000 after buying an additional 26,443,257 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings 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 worth $2,014,861,000 after buying an additional 2,384,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 1.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,776,815 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,683,961,000 after buying an additional 217,567 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of Walt Disney stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $112.73. 6,304,843 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,049,604. The company has a market cap of $206.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.84. The Walt Disney Company has a 52 week low of $78.73 and a 52 week high of $123.74.

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

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total transaction of $226,405.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $536,448. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DIS. Daiwa Capital Markets restated a “buy” rating and set a $133.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $129.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.08.

Walt Disney Company 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.