Searle & CO. Decreases Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Searle & CO. cut its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 22,545 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 918 shares during the period. Searle & CO.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $2,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evolution Advisers Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,975 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 0.7% during the third quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 16,514 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,338,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Kelman Lazarov Inc. boosted its position in Walt Disney by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Kelman Lazarov Inc. now owns 3,583 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 24,096 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,176,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DIS traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $110.48. The stock had a trading volume of 6,326,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,621,839. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.25. The company has a market capitalization of $202.66 billion, a PE ratio of 68.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $78.73 and a 1 year high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.25. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 3.36%. 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 posted $0.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. This represents a yield of 0.5%. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DIS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Macquarie increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Argus lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Walt Disney from $129.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $136.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total value of $226,405.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $536,448. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.