Auxano Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Auxano Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,418 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 213 shares during the quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DIS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 0.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 994,575 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,318,444 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,592,010,000 after purchasing an additional 195,512 shares during the period. Trian Fund Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $2,663,976,000 after purchasing an additional 26,443,257 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 24,859,476 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,014,861,000 after purchasing an additional 2,384,407 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,776,815 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,683,961,000 after purchasing an additional 217,567 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

DIS stock traded down $0.98 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $111.10. 7,956,943 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,682,927. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $78.73 and a 1 year high of $123.74. 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 company has a market cap of $203.79 billion, a PE ratio of 68.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.06.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.25. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 3.36%. The firm had revenue of $23.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect 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 announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total value of $226,405.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $536,448. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DIS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Barclays upgraded Walt Disney from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Walt Disney from $129.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.08.

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.