Spire Wealth Management Sells 3,109 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Spire Wealth Management trimmed its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 45,810 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 3,109 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $4,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Walt Disney by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,887,754 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $12,148,402,000 after buying an additional 994,575 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Walt Disney by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,318,444 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,592,010,000 after buying an additional 195,512 shares during the period. Trian Fund Management L.P. raised its stake in Walt Disney by 411.6% during the 3rd quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. now owns 32,868,307 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,663,976,000 after buying an additional 26,443,257 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Walt Disney by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 24,859,476 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,014,861,000 after buying an additional 2,384,407 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its stake in Walt Disney by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 14,416,343 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,168,444,000 after buying an additional 2,505,486 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,400 shares in the company, valued at $536,448. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.17.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DIS traded up $2.81 during trading on Monday, reaching $116.47. 16,255,996 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,571,038. The Walt Disney Company has a 12 month low of $78.73 and a 12 month high of $123.74. The firm has a market cap of $213.64 billion, a PE ratio of 71.93, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $114.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The company had revenue of $23.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

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

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.