Fiduciary Financial Group LLC Cuts Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Fiduciary Financial Group LLC cut its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 49.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,777 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 2,719 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 2nd quarter worth $55,565,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 67.3% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 6,486 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 2,610 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 2nd quarter worth $2,241,000. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,395 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,280 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walt Disney Price Performance

DIS stock opened at $108.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.80 billion, a PE ratio of 39.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.43. 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In other Walt Disney news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DIS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.54.

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.