Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Trims Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. trimmed its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 100,568 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 971 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $11,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DIS. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Walt Disney during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its position in Walt Disney by 98.1% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. This trade represents a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

Shares of DIS opened at $108.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $112.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.90. The stock has a market cap of $197.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The Walt Disney Company has a one year low of $83.91 and a one year high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. 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 company posted $0.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.52.

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.