Pineridge Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Pineridge Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,188 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Walt Disney by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 4,241 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 2,591 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the period. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 2.9% during the third quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 5,476 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 8.1% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,615 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Walt Disney by 178.7% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 16,844 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,620,000 after acquiring an additional 10,800 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 brokerages have commented on DIS. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Redburn Atlantic raised Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.85.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $109.23 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $111.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.58, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a one year low of $83.91 and a one year high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 6.07%. Analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.57%.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In related news, 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,870.70. This trade represents a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.