Skylands Capital LLC Sells 45,925 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Skylands Capital LLC lessened its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS - Free Report) by 75.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,925 shares of the entertainment giant's stock after selling 45,925 shares during the period. Skylands Capital LLC's holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Walt Disney by 4.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 107,880 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $10,377,000 after acquiring an additional 4,878 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 2.8% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 66,531 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $6,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 2.6% during the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 105,663 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $10,164,000 after buying an additional 2,657 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 5.3% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,416,537 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $135,398,000 after buying an additional 71,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bristlecone Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 42,462 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $4,084,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DIS traded up $2.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $112.80. 3,244,170 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,051,681. The Walt Disney Company has a twelve month low of $83.91 and a twelve month high of $123.74. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $203.92 billion, a PE ratio of 36.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.42.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 9.95%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a yield of 0.6%. 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. Walt Disney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.57%.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,054,870.70. This trade represents a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DIS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Walt Disney from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Macquarie restated a "neutral" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walt Disney from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $125.44.

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.