Northern Financial Advisors Inc Sells 673 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Northern Financial Advisors Inc cut its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,219 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 673 shares during the quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DIS. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $7,463,978,000 after purchasing an additional 490,681 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 worth $3,609,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,082 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Walt Disney by 8.7% during 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 last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Walt Disney by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 19,197,463 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,137,637,000 after buying an additional 3,636,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Walt Disney by 3.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,850,678 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,332,297,000 after buying an additional 454,678 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DIS. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.85.

Walt Disney Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $109.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $198.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.69, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The Walt Disney Company has a 12 month low of $83.91 and a 12 month high of $123.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $111.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.67.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 9.95%. As a group, analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 $5,005,529.10. The trade was a 10.19 % 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 in the last 90 days. 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.