Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Reduces Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 29,358 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 910 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $3,174,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in Walt Disney in the 4th quarter worth $267,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 60.5% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,367 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $4,169,000 after purchasing an additional 14,461 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 5,470 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney during the fourth quarter worth about $313,000. Finally, Kaydan Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Walt Disney in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. 65.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In other news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of DIS opened at $107.07 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $112.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.69. 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 market capitalization of $193.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.51, a PEG 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is 36.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on DIS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Redburn Atlantic raised Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.54.

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.