Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Lowers Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,046 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 316 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 994,575 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position 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 buying an additional 195,512 shares in the last quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 26,443,257 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position 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 buying an additional 2,384,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at $1,938,647,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total transaction of $226,405.44. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James P. Gorman purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $106.03 per share, with a total value of $2,120,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 20,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,170,116.01. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on Walt Disney from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Walt Disney in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.52.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of Walt Disney stock traded up $0.94 during trading on Friday, reaching $101.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,020,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,912,812. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The Walt Disney Company has a 12-month low of $78.73 and a 12-month high of $123.74. The company has a market capitalization of $185.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 110.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $112.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.79.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The entertainment giant reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 8.37% and a net margin of 1.90%. The company had revenue of $22.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. Walt Disney’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

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.