Westside Investment Management Inc. Decreases Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Westside Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 20.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,874 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 1,245 shares during the quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $543,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farallon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Walt Disney in the second quarter valued at about $355,673,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 12,574.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of 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 worth $414,582,000 after buying an additional 2,298,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 112.0% in the third 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 during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

DIS opened at $108.92 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $112.35 and its 200-day moving average is $99.83. The stock has a market cap of $197.25 billion, a PE ratio of 40.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.43. The Walt Disney Company has a twelve month low of $83.91 and a twelve month high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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. This represents a yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,870.70. The trade was a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DIS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.52.

Walt Disney Company 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.