The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Shares Sold by Sicart Associates LLC

Sicart Associates LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,703 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 2,805 shares during the quarter. Walt Disney accounts for 2.2% of Sicart Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Sicart Associates LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $6,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DIS. Farallon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the second quarter valued at $355,673,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 12,574.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $329,585,000 after purchasing an additional 3,399,359 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 8.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765,389 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 114.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $414,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298,921 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 112.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $398,508,000 after acquiring an additional 2,188,610 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DIS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total value of $42,667,242.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total value of $917,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,870.70. This represents a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walt Disney Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Walt Disney stock opened at $106.38 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.58. The company has a market cap of $192.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.25, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The firm had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

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