Perpetual Ltd Sells 19,871 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Perpetual Ltd cut its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 71.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,830 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 19,871 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $7,463,978,000 after purchasing an additional 490,681 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,609,833,000 after buying an additional 1,393,082 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,765,389 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Walt Disney by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,281,047 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,417,958,000 after acquiring an additional 425,438 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Walt Disney by 3.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,850,678 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,332,297,000 after purchasing an additional 454,678 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total transaction of $42,667,242.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of Walt Disney 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. The trade was a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, January 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.52.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

Walt Disney stock opened at $108.86 on Thursday. The Walt Disney Company has a 1-year low of $83.91 and a 1-year high of $123.74. The company’s 50-day moving average is $112.35 and its 200 day moving average is $99.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. Walt Disney’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.90%.

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.