Kennedy Investment Group Sells 95 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Kennedy Investment Group trimmed its position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,576 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 95 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Investment Group’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DIS. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Walt Disney by 12,574.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $329,585,000 after acquiring an additional 3,399,359 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 8.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,310,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765,389 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 114.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,298,921 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,188,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 3.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,609,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,082 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on DIS. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Redburn Atlantic raised Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.52.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

NYSE DIS opened at $112.26 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $203.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.22. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is currently 36.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In other news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % 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 quarter. Corporate 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.