GSB Wealth Management LLC Trims Stock Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

GSB Wealth Management LLC cut its position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,318 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 655 shares during the period. GSB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in Walt Disney by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 2,558 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC raised its stake in Walt Disney by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 3,737 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV raised its stake in Walt Disney by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV now owns 8,313 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the period. CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 9,272 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222 shares during the period. Finally, Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. 65.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walt Disney Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:DIS opened at $112.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $203.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $112.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.07. 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 1-year low of $83.91 and a 1-year high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. Walt Disney’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 36.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DIS. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walt Disney news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $5,054,870.70. This represents a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Walt Disney

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.