M&T Bank Corp Trims Stock Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

M&T Bank Corp lowered its position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 933,326 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 5,316 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $89,776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DIS. State Street Corp lifted its position in Walt Disney by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $7,463,978,000 after acquiring an additional 490,681 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 3.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,609,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,082 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765,389 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,883,983 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,477,831,000 after buying an additional 1,449,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Walt Disney by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,281,047 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,417,958,000 after buying an additional 425,438 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of DIS stock opened at $112.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $202.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.34, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $106.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.48.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. Walt Disney’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DIS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.58.

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.