Earnest Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Earnest Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 50.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 68,342 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 69,973 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $8,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DIS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walt Disney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,938,647,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,490,492,000. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 3,332.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,267,593 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $766,903,000 after acquiring an additional 6,084,993 shares during the last quarter. ValueAct Holdings L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter worth approximately $459,245,000. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 1st quarter worth approximately $425,567,000. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DIS shares. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walt Disney from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.54.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In other Walt Disney news, Director James P. Gorman bought 20,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $106.03 per share, with a total value of $2,120,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,170,116.01. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.00, for a total value of $466,400.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James P. Gorman purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $106.03 per share, for a total transaction of $2,120,600.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 20,467 shares in the company, valued at $2,170,116.01. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DIS traded up $2.21 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $92.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,678,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,337,137. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $99.38 and a 200-day moving average of $105.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.45, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The Walt Disney Company has a 12-month low of $78.73 and a 12-month high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The entertainment giant reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $22.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.12 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 1.90% and a return on equity of 8.37%. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

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.