Morningstar Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lowered its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 26.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,848 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 20,828 shares during the quarter. Walt Disney accounts for approximately 0.5% of Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $6,330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $7,463,978,000 after purchasing an additional 490,681 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Walt Disney by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,609,833,000 after buying an additional 1,393,082 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Walt Disney by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,310,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765,389 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 19,197,463 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,137,637,000 after buying an additional 3,636,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Walt Disney by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,850,678 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,332,297,000 after purchasing an additional 454,678 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walt Disney Stock Up 1.6 %

Walt Disney stock opened at $111.28 on Thursday. The Walt Disney Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.91 and a fifty-two week high of $123.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.17 billion, a PE ratio of 36.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50-day moving average is $110.88 and its 200-day moving average is $102.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 6.07%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is presently 32.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,054,870.70. This represents a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 shares were 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 in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DIS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.85.

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.