The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Holdings Decreased by West Coast Financial LLC

West Coast Financial LLC lessened its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 506 shares during the quarter. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Farallon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walt Disney during the second quarter worth about $355,673,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Walt Disney by 12,574.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $329,585,000 after buying an additional 3,399,359 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Walt Disney by 8.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after buying an additional 2,765,389 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 114.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $414,582,000 after buying an additional 2,298,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 112.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $398,508,000 after buying an additional 2,188,610 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on DIS. Loop Capital raised their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.54.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of Walt Disney stock opened at $108.18 on Thursday. The Walt Disney Company has a 1-year low of $83.91 and a 1-year high of $123.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.51. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $195.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.92, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. Walt Disney’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. The trade was a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. 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 three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.