Harbor Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Harbor Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 88.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,759 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 34,737 shares during the quarter. Harbor Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 0.7% during the third 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 increased its position in Walt Disney by 0.4% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,318,444 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,592,010,000 after purchasing an additional 195,512 shares during the last quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. increased its position in Walt Disney by 411.6% in the third quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. now owns 32,868,307 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,663,976,000 after purchasing an additional 26,443,257 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Walt Disney by 10.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 24,859,476 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,014,861,000 after purchasing an additional 2,384,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Walt Disney by 1.1% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,776,815 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,683,961,000 after purchasing an additional 217,567 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

NYSE:DIS traded up $1.73 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $113.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,583,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,971,879. The Walt Disney Company has a fifty-two week low of $78.73 and a fifty-two week high of $123.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $114.04 and its 200-day moving average is $99.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $208.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.42.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. Walt Disney’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.66 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. This represents a yield of 0.5%. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $536,448. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $129.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.08.

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.