Conning Inc. Sells 8,906 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Conning Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 16.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,711 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 8,906 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $5,201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 19,197,463 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,137,637,000 after buying an additional 3,636,742 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 3,399,359 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 8.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,298,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 112.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $398,508,000 after purchasing an additional 2,188,610 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

DIS stock opened at $110.83 on Friday. The Walt Disney Company has a twelve month low of $83.91 and a twelve month high of $123.74. The firm has a market cap of $200.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.90, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. Analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is presently 32.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on DIS shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Prescient Securities decreased their price objective on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.85.

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.