Howland Capital Management LLC Sells 444 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Howland Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,349 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 444 shares during the quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 19,197,463 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,137,637,000 after purchasing an additional 3,636,742 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Walt Disney by 12,574.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $329,585,000 after purchasing an additional 3,399,359 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,765,389 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 114.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $414,582,000 after buying an additional 2,298,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 112.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $398,508,000 after buying an additional 2,188,610 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on DIS shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. Guggenheim increased their target price on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. 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 target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was 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 owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. This represents a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walt Disney Trading Down 1.1 %

Walt Disney stock opened at $110.83 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $111.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.19. The company has a market capitalization of $200.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a 52 week low of $83.91 and a 52 week high of $123.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 9.95%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.57%.

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.