Herbst Group LLC Sells 4,350 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Herbst Group LLC lowered its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,698 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 4,350 shares during the period. Herbst Group LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $2,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the second quarter worth $32,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Walt Disney during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 98.1% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walt Disney during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total transaction of $42,667,242.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 have sold a total of 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DIS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, January 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.54.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Walt Disney stock opened at $107.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $193.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $112.08 and its 200 day moving average is $99.67. 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 Walt Disney Company has a one year low of $83.91 and a one year high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

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.