Howland Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Howland Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,349 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 444 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 66,744 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $6,420,000 after purchasing an additional 5,184 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,411,205 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,001,454,000 after buying an additional 114,701 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in Walt Disney by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 140,883 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $15,687,000 after acquiring an additional 13,339 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments grew its stake in Walt Disney by 476.0% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 12,379 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after acquiring an additional 10,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at about $15,125,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. This represents a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DIS shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.85.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $110.83 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $111.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $200.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a 1-year low of $83.91 and a 1-year high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 9.95%. Analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is presently 32.57%.

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.