The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,135,613 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 172,181 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.23% of Walt Disney worth $460,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walt Disney in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 399 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Walt Disney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Walt Disney during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. 65.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DIS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, January 6th. Prescient Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.85.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

DIS opened at $109.25 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.53. The stock has a market cap of $197.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a 1-year low of $83.91 and a 1-year high of $123.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 6.07%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal 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 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 a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is presently 32.57%.

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.