Dover Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Dover Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 25.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,881 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 4,507 shares during the period. Walt Disney makes up 1.5% of Dover Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Dover Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DIS. Evolution Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Walt Disney by 38.2% in the fourth quarter. Evolution Advisers Inc. now owns 380 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,975 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 0.7% during the third quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 16,514 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,338,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Kelman Lazarov Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Kelman Lazarov Inc. now owns 3,583 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 24,096 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,176,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DIS shares. Daiwa Capital Markets reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $133.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Macquarie lifted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total transaction of $226,405.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $536,448. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

Shares of Walt Disney stock traded down $0.04 on Friday, hitting $112.73. The stock had a trading volume of 6,304,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,049,604. The Walt Disney Company has a twelve month low of $78.73 and a twelve month high of $123.74. The business’s 50 day moving average is $114.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $206.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.42.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.25. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 3.36%. The company had revenue of $23.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is 18.52%.

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.