Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. cut its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 28.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 352 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 142 shares during the quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $39,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DIS. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new position in Walt Disney in the second quarter valued at about $336,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 30.7% in the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 147,183 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $14,614,000 after buying an additional 34,600 shares during the last quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc grew its position in Walt Disney by 9.7% during the second quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 6,411 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 16.3% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 29,848 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,964,000 after buying an additional 4,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annandale Capital LLC raised its position in Walt Disney by 86.9% in the second quarter. Annandale Capital LLC now owns 68,148 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $6,766,000 after acquiring an additional 31,679 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DIS. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler began coverage on Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walt Disney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Walt Disney stock opened at $112.25 on Friday. The Walt Disney Company has a 52-week low of $83.91 and a 52-week high of $123.74. The company has a market cap of $203.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.42, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $112.46 and its 200 day moving average is $100.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS 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 company had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

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