The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in The Walt Disney Company by 2.1%, selling 53,255 shares, and now holds approximately 0.14% of the company worth $243.77 million.
• Institutions collectively own 65.71% of Walt Disney's shares, with multiple funds reporting increases in their holdings during the first quarter.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $1.61, exceeding analyst estimates, with a slight year-over-year revenue increase of 2.1%.

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,469,883 shares of the entertainment giant's stock after selling 53,255 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.14% of Walt Disney worth $243,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Walt Disney by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 155,862,361 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $15,383,615,000 after buying an additional 2,446,087 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Walt Disney by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,242,415 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $2,476,693,000 after buying an additional 2,096,431 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Walt Disney by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,821,361 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $1,758,968,000 after buying an additional 717,066 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Walt Disney by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 16,867,017 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $1,878,142,000 after buying an additional 3,016,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Walt Disney during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,353,607,000. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DIS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wolfe Research raised Walt Disney from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $112.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $131.18.

Walt Disney Price Performance

DIS stock traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $116.34. 6,607,005 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,837,803. The company has a market cap of $209.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. The stock's 50 day moving average is $119.22 and its 200 day moving average is $108.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The Walt Disney Company has a 12-month low of $80.10 and a 12-month high of $124.69.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $23.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.69 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 12.22%. Walt Disney's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.47 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.