Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 39,542 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,014,369 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 39,542 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.06% of Walt Disney worth $91,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DIS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,887,754 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $12,148,402,000 after buying an additional 994,575 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Walt Disney by 0.4% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,318,444 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,592,010,000 after purchasing an additional 195,512 shares in the last quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 411.6% during the 3rd quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. now owns 32,868,307 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,663,976,000 after purchasing an additional 26,443,257 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 24,859,476 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,014,861,000 after purchasing an additional 2,384,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Walt Disney by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,776,815 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,683,961,000 after buying an additional 217,567 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on DIS shares. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets restated a “buy” rating and issued a $133.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Monday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Walt Disney in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays upgraded Walt Disney from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total transaction of $226,405.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,400 shares in the company, valued at $536,448. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of Walt Disney stock traded up $1.06 on Friday, reaching $113.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,400,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,516,804. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $208.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.16, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $114.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.40. The Walt Disney Company has a 52-week low of $78.73 and a 52-week high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.25. Walt Disney had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The company had revenue of $23.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is 18.52%.

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.