The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Shares Sold by Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.

Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 13.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 196,632 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 31,168 shares during the period. Walt Disney comprises about 0.9% of Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $17,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, September 20th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Atlantic Securities downgraded Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $113.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group cut their price target on Walt Disney from $126.00 to $122.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.30.

Walt Disney Price Performance

DIS stock traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $94.50. 3,118,561 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,233,953. The stock has a market cap of $172.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.91, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.05. The Walt Disney Company has a fifty-two week low of $78.73 and a fifty-two week high of $118.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $84.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.10.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 8th. The entertainment giant reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.15. Walt Disney had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 7.31%. The firm had revenue of $21.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney 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.