The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Shares Sold by Violich Capital Management Inc.

Violich Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,774 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Retirement Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 4,241 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 38.3% during the 3rd quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 2,591 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 5,476 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,615 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 178.7% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 16,844 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,620,000 after buying an additional 10,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Down 1.5 %

Walt Disney stock opened at $109.23 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $197.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a 1-year low of $83.91 and a 1-year high of $123.74. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.26.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 9.95%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction 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 $5,054,870.70. This represents a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total transaction of $42,667,242.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Walt Disney from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.85.

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.