Fernwood Investment Management LLC Has $1.09 Million Stock Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Fernwood Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,250 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 1,481 shares during the period. Fernwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DIS. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 355.3% in the 4th quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 346 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 38.2% in the 4th quarter. Evolution Advisers Inc. now owns 380 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Walt Disney from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $536,448. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of Walt Disney stock traded down $0.67 on Monday, hitting $112.06. 7,167,296 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,728,643. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $205.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a 12-month low of $78.73 and a 12-month high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its 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. Walt Disney had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The company had revenue of $23.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

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.