Lynch Asset Management Inc. Sells 300 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Lynch Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 42,675 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Walt Disney comprises about 1.9% of Lynch Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Lynch Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $4,752,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $7,463,978,000 after buying an additional 490,681 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 3.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,609,833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,082 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 8.7% in the third 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. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 3.4% during 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 valued at $1,332,297,000 after purchasing an additional 454,678 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,411,205 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,001,454,000 after purchasing an additional 114,701 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In other news, 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 approximately $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,005,529.10. The trade was a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on DIS. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $100.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.52.

Walt Disney Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $113.04 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $112.34 and its 200 day moving average is $100.64. The Walt Disney Company has a 52 week low of $83.91 and a 52 week high of $123.74. The company has a market cap of $204.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.71, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. 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 disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is presently 36.90%.

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.