Carson Advisory Inc. Cuts Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Carson Advisory Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,256 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 332 shares during the quarter. Carson Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,887,754 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $12,148,402,000 after acquiring an additional 994,575 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,318,444 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,592,010,000 after acquiring an additional 195,512 shares during the last quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 411.6% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 26,443,257 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 10.6% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,776,815 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,683,961,000 after purchasing an additional 217,567 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $536,448. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walt Disney Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:DIS traded up $2.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $112.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,783,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,565,144. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $78.73 and a 1 year high of $123.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $114.28 and a 200-day moving average of $100.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.58 billion, a PE ratio of 69.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $23.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.71 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors 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 is Monday, July 8th. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is currently 18.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Macquarie increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $136.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $129.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.08.

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.