abrdn plc Sells 134,438 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

abrdn plc lowered its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,809,716 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 134,438 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $201,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 399 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Walt Disney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 98.1% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Walt Disney in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Walt Disney during the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total value of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,054,870.70. The trade was a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. The trade was 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 valued at $44,153,263 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Five investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.52.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

DIS opened at $114.10 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The Walt Disney Company has a 12-month low of $83.91 and a 12-month high of $123.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $112.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.35 billion, a PE ratio of 42.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.43.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 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. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.