Cullinan Associates Inc. Reduces Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Cullinan Associates Inc. lowered its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,522 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 5,635 shares during the quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $8,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DIS. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walt Disney by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 399 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Walt Disney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walt Disney Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:DIS opened at $114.10 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $112.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.66. The Walt Disney Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.91 and a fifty-two week high of $123.74. The company has a market cap of $206.35 billion, a PE ratio of 42.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. 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 36.90%.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney 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 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 sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on DIS shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, January 6th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Five investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Walt Disney currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.52.

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.