The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Shares Sold by Beech Hill Advisors Inc.

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 49,661 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 670 shares during the quarter. Walt Disney accounts for approximately 2.1% of Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $5,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farallon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walt Disney in the second quarter valued at approximately $355,673,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 12,574.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,399,359 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Walt Disney by 8.7% during the 3rd 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 increased its stake in Walt Disney by 114.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $414,582,000 after buying an additional 2,298,921 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 112.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $398,508,000 after buying an additional 2,188,610 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DIS. Piper Sandler started coverage on Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective 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, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction 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 the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walt Disney Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE DIS traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $107.81. 468,836 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,048,814. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.78, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50 day moving average of $111.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.51.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The company 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 firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side 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 paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

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.