The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Position Reduced by Rice Partnership LLC

Rice Partnership LLC trimmed its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 92.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,038 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 50,271 shares during the quarter. Rice Partnership LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farmers Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 8,483 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Saxon Interests Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 3,412 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Abundance Wealth Counselors boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 9,662 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Great Diamond Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 6,105 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $680,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 18,869 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,809,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total transaction of $42,667,242.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on DIS. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.52.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

Walt Disney stock opened at $113.04 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.66. The company has a market cap of $204.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The Walt Disney Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.91 and a fifty-two week high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is presently 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.