Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. decreased its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 74,524 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 8,560 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $6,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DIS. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 355.3% during the 4th quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 346 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Up 1.5 %

Walt Disney stock traded up $1.73 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $113.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,830,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,972,034. The Walt Disney Company has a 52-week low of $78.73 and a 52-week high of $123.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.95, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.05.

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

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DIS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Walt Disney from $129.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total value of $226,405.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $536,448. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.