Gradient Capital Advisors LLC Sells 213 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Gradient Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,176 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 213 shares during the quarter. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 38.3% in the third quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 2,591 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,615 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 655,712 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $59,827,000 after acquiring an additional 5,972 shares in the last quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walt Disney during the third quarter worth about $276,000. Finally, Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Walt Disney by 7.4% during the third quarter. Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,107 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on DIS shares. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday. Prescient Securities cut their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $100.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.85.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Walt Disney stock opened at $109.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $197.06 billion, a PE ratio of 35.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $111.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.39. The Walt Disney Company has a one year low of $83.91 and a one year high of $123.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 6.07%. As a group, research analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is currently 32.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walt Disney 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.