Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 35.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,203 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 8,787 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DIS. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Walt Disney during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Walt Disney during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Walt Disney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Birch Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Walt Disney in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in Walt Disney by 98.1% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,054,870.70. This trade represents a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DIS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong 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 $125.54.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $107.07 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $193.90 billion, a PE ratio of 39.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The Walt Disney Company has a 1-year low of $83.91 and a 1-year high of $123.74. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $112.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.70.

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

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date 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.