Gries Financial LLC Lowers Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Gries Financial LLC lowered its position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 21.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,070 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 577 shares during the quarter. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Markel Corp raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 2.3% during the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 1,922,665 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $263,713,000 after buying an additional 42,500 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. increased its position in Walt Disney by 3.4% in the first quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 9,624 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its position in Walt Disney by 8.7% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 9,949 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Walt Disney by 4.6% in the first quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,918 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,418,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Walt Disney by 0.6% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 828,308 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $113,611,000 after purchasing an additional 4,722 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 959 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.05, for a total value of $85,398.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,577.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Credit Suisse Group reduced their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $126.00 to $122.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Macquarie cut shares of Walt Disney from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $107.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 21st. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.35.

Walt Disney Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of DIS opened at $83.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.28. The Walt Disney Company has a 12-month low of $79.75 and a 12-month high of $118.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $86.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.91.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The entertainment giant reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $22.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.50 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 6.45%. The business’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Company Profile

The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an entertainment company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution; and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. The company engages in the film and episodic television content production and distribution activities, as well as operates television networks under the ABC, Disney, ESPN, Freeform, FX, Fox, National Geographic, and Star brands; and studios that produces films under the Walt Disney Pictures, Twentieth Century Studios, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, and Searchlight Pictures banners.