New York State Common Retirement Fund Trims Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,338,925 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 98,925 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $260,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 8.4% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 66,744 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $6,420,000 after purchasing an additional 5,184 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Walt Disney by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,411,205 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,001,454,000 after buying an additional 114,701 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 140,883 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $15,687,000 after acquiring an additional 13,339 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 476.0% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 12,379 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,191,000 after acquiring an additional 10,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the fourth quarter valued at $15,125,000. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on DIS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, January 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walt Disney presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. This trade represents a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:DIS opened at $109.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $110.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.13. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 6.07%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is 32.57%.

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.