Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Cuts Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC trimmed its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 387,358 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 18,616 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $43,132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 12,574.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $329,585,000 after buying an additional 3,399,359 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Walt Disney by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,310,539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,765,389 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 114.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 112.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $398,508,000 after purchasing an additional 2,188,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $3,609,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,082 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.52.

Walt Disney Stock Up 2.0 %

DIS stock opened at $111.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The Walt Disney Company has a 12 month low of $83.91 and a 12 month high of $123.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.04 billion, a PE ratio of 40.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.90.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released 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. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend 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%.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. This represents a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.