The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Stake Lessened by Kozak & Associates Inc.

Kozak & Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,597 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 307 shares during the quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Farallon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walt Disney in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $355,673,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 12,574.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $329,585,000 after acquiring an additional 3,399,359 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Walt Disney by 8.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,310,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765,389 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Walt Disney by 114.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $414,582,000 after acquiring an additional 2,298,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 112.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $398,508,000 after acquiring an additional 2,188,610 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on DIS shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Rosenblatt Securities upped 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. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Macquarie raised their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $91.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.58.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Walt Disney stock traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $111.58. 3,385,187 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,741,264. The Walt Disney Company has a 12 month low of $83.91 and a 12 month high of $123.74. The business’s 50-day moving average is $109.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.15. 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 $202.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.43.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.