Grimes & Company Inc. Sells 772 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Grimes & Company Inc. reduced its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 163,768 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 772 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $18,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Walt Disney in the second quarter worth $378,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 160.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 829,220 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $82,333,000 after purchasing an additional 510,844 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 65.6% in the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 582,325 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $53,948,000 after purchasing an additional 230,594 shares in the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new position in Walt Disney in the second quarter worth $336,000. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 185.1% during the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 240,581 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $23,887,000 after acquiring an additional 156,194 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $112.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.28 billion, a PE ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $112.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.07.

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

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business 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 an increase 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 36.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DIS. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Loop Capital upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.52.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total value of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,870.70. This trade represents a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. 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 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.