CWA Asset Management Group LLC Trims Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC reduced its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 30,129 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 460 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $3,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 7,637.8% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 225,788 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 222,870 shares in the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc purchased a new stake in Walt Disney during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $82,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 132.1% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 50,978 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $5,060,000 after buying an additional 29,010 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC boosted its position in Walt Disney by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 9,386 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $932,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the second quarter worth $853,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

NYSE DIS opened at $110.90 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $109.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $200.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.43. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for 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. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is presently 36.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total value of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. This trade represents a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Six investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Walt Disney has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.58.

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.