ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Lowers Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 25.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,927 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 2,424 shares during the quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Trian Fund Management L.P. raised its position in Walt Disney by 411.6% during the third quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. now owns 32,868,307 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,663,976,000 after acquiring an additional 26,443,257 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the 3rd quarter worth about $326,171,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 8,681.3% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,349,709 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $302,445,000 after buying an additional 3,311,563 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 14,416,343 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,168,444,000 after buying an additional 2,505,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Walt Disney by 10.6% during the third 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. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised Walt Disney from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $95.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group raised their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.08.

Walt Disney Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Walt Disney stock traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $113.66. The stock had a trading volume of 7,411,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,776,801. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $78.73 and a 1 year high of $123.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.60.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.25. Walt Disney had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The firm had revenue of $23.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. Walt Disney’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the company’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 value of $226,405.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $536,448. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.