Meritage Portfolio Management Has $313,000 Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Meritage Portfolio Management lowered its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 23.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,808 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 858 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DIS. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walt Disney during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walt Disney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 399 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Walt Disney in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank raised its position in Walt Disney by 98.1% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total value 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 $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on DIS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.85.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

NYSE:DIS opened at $112.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $202.82 billion, a PE ratio of 41.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73. The Walt Disney Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.91 and a fifty-two week high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. Research analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

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

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.