Sicart Associates LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Sicart Associates LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,703 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 2,805 shares during the quarter. Walt Disney accounts for approximately 2.2% of Sicart Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Sicart Associates LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $6,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DIS. Farallon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the second quarter worth about $355,673,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $329,585,000 after purchasing an additional 3,399,359 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 holdings in Walt Disney by 114.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $414,582,000 after acquiring an additional 2,298,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Walt Disney by 112.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $398,508,000 after acquiring an additional 2,188,610 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walt Disney Stock Down 1.7 %

DIS stock opened at $106.38 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $111.77 and its 200 day moving average is $99.58. The Walt Disney Company has a one year low of $83.91 and a one year high of $123.74. The firm has a market cap of $192.65 billion, a PE ratio of 39.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is 36.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DIS shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total value of $42,667,242.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney 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.