The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Holdings Trimmed by Hartford Financial Management Inc.

Hartford Financial Management Inc. cut its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,937 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 5,849 shares during the quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $4,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DIS. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $329,585,000 after acquiring an additional 3,399,359 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Walt Disney by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,765,389 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in 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 valued at $414,582,000 after acquiring an additional 2,298,921 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $398,508,000 after purchasing an additional 2,188,610 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 worth $3,609,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,082 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.52.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. This trade represents a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

NYSE:DIS opened at $113.30 on Friday. 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 $204.89 billion, a PE ratio of 41.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $112.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. Walt Disney’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend 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.