Costello Asset Management INC Trims Stock Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Costello Asset Management INC lessened its position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 71.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,133 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 18,080 shares during the quarter. Costello Asset Management INC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DIS. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 12,574.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $329,585,000 after purchasing an additional 3,399,359 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Walt Disney by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765,389 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $414,582,000 after buying an additional 2,298,921 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $398,508,000 after buying an additional 2,188,610 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 3.8% in 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 buying an additional 1,393,082 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 $113.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.43 billion, a PE ratio of 41.71, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.43. 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 Walt Disney Company has a twelve month low of $83.91 and a twelve month high of $123.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $112.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.62.

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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DIS shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.52.

Insider Activity

In other Walt Disney 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 value of $42,667,242.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.