Skylands Capital LLC Trims Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Skylands Capital LLC lowered its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 75.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,925 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 45,925 shares during the quarter. Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $7,463,978,000 after acquiring an additional 490,681 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Walt Disney by 3.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,609,833,000 after buying an additional 1,393,082 shares during the period. 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 acquiring an additional 2,765,389 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Walt Disney by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 19,197,463 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,137,637,000 after purchasing an additional 3,636,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 3.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,850,678 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,332,297,000 after purchasing an additional 454,678 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,870.70. This represents a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Trading Down 1.7 %

Walt Disney stock opened at $108.62 on Monday. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74. The stock has a market cap of $196.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.38, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $110.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.58.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 6.07%. On average, equities analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors 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. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is 32.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.44.

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.