Bailard Inc. Sells 2,603 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Bailard Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,774 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 2,603 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $8,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Trian Fund Management L.P. increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 411.6% in the third quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. now owns 32,868,307 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,663,976,000 after purchasing an additional 26,443,257 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the third quarter worth about $326,171,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 8,681.3% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,349,709 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $302,445,000 after acquiring an additional 3,311,563 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 21.0% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 14,416,343 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,168,444,000 after acquiring an additional 2,505,486 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 10.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 24,859,476 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,014,861,000 after acquiring an additional 2,384,407 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DIS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Bank of America raised their target price on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Macquarie boosted their price target on Walt Disney from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $136.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.08.

Walt Disney Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of DIS traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $113.95. 6,149,590 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,901,535. The Walt Disney Company has a 52 week low of $78.73 and a 52 week high of $123.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.37. The company has a market cap of $209.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.34, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.52%.

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.