Welch Group LLC Sells 1,265 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Welch Group LLC decreased its position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,672 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 1,265 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 399 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Walt Disney during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Birch Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter worth $56,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 98.1% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DIS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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 report on Monday, November 18th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.52.

Walt Disney Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $114.10 on Tuesday. 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 12 month low of $83.91 and a 12 month high of $123.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.35 billion, a PE ratio of 42.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.42.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $22.57 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior 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 year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.90%.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 over the last quarter. 0.16% 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.