SG Americas Securities LLC Decreases Stock Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

SG Americas Securities LLC reduced its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS - Free Report) by 98.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,181 shares of the entertainment giant's stock after selling 774,403 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farmers Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 8,483 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 3,412 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 18,869 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $1,809,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 11,657 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $1,121,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connable Office Inc. increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 35,048 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $3,371,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on DIS shares. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walt Disney from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Walt Disney from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $125.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walt Disney Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of DIS stock traded up $1.43 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $113.59. The stock had a trading volume of 6,180,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,162,282. The Walt Disney Company has a 12-month low of $83.91 and a 12-month high of $123.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43. The firm's 50-day moving average is $112.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Walt Disney's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney's dividend payout ratio is 36.90%.

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.