Grassi Investment Management Reduces Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Grassi Investment Management trimmed its position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 59,315 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Grassi Investment Management’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $6,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DIS. Forza Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,173 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 196.2% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 20,380 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,269,000 after purchasing an additional 13,499 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 17,795 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,933,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in Walt Disney by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 13,801 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in Walt Disney by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 140,883 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $15,687,000 after buying an additional 13,339 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. 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 report on Monday, November 18th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. This trade represents 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. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walt Disney Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of DIS traded down $0.86 during trading on Monday, reaching $107.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,522,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,463,638. The company has a market cap of $195.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 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. The company has a fifty day moving average of $111.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.43. The Walt Disney Company has a twelve month low of $83.91 and a twelve month high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $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, sell-side analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

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.