Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Sells 2,827 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lessened its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 184,264 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 2,827 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $20,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $6,420,000 after buying an additional 5,184 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 1.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 114,701 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in Walt Disney by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 140,883 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $15,687,000 after acquiring an additional 13,339 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 476.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Walt Disney in the 4th quarter worth $15,125,000. 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total value of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,870.70. The trade was a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.54.

Walt Disney Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE DIS opened at $107.07 on Tuesday. The Walt Disney Company has a 12 month low of $83.91 and a 12 month high of $123.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $112.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.76. The stock has a market cap of $193.90 billion, a PE ratio of 39.51, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The firm had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

Walt Disney Company 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.