The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Short Interest Update

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,550,000 shares, a decline of 6.2% from the December 15th total of 20,850,000 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 9,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In other Walt Disney news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $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 available through this link. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total value of $917,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. This represents a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Veracity Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 4,764 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $530,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its position in Walt Disney by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 5,020 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the fourth quarter worth about $2,076,000. Edge Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Oklahoma grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma now owns 13,845 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on DIS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. 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 research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.54.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DIS traded up $0.61 during trading on Monday, reaching $107.07. 7,103,097 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,534,095. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.90 billion, a PE ratio of 39.51, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. Walt Disney has a 52 week low of $83.91 and a 52 week high of $123.74. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $112.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.70.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. Walt Disney’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walt Disney will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.