Ridgewood Investments LLC Sells 1,707 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Ridgewood Investments LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,488 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 1,707 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,391,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DIS. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 132.1% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 50,978 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $5,060,000 after acquiring an additional 29,010 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 36,460.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,656 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 3,646 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden bought a new position in Walt Disney in the second quarter valued at about $2,730,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new position in Walt Disney in the second quarter valued at about $5,169,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Walt Disney in the second quarter valued at about $15,367,000. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walt Disney Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DIS traded down $1.31 on Friday, reaching $108.45. The company had a trading volume of 3,284,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,017,289. The Walt Disney Company has a 52-week low of $83.91 and a 52-week high of $123.74. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.40 billion, a PE ratio of 40.02, a PEG ratio of 2.05 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid 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 is Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is 36.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. The trade was a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.