Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) Stock: Insider Brent Woodford Sells 6,474 Shares

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) EVP Brent Woodford sold 6,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.98, for a total value of $724,958.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 62,995 shares in the company, valued at $7,054,180.10. This represents a 9.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Brent Woodford also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, October 16th, Brent Woodford sold 2,856 shares of Walt Disney stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.68, for a total value of $318,958.08.
• On Thursday, October 8th, Brent Woodford sold 3,618 shares of Walt Disney stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total value of $381,011.58.
• On Tuesday, September 1st, Brent Woodford sold 3,618 shares of Walt Disney stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.13, for a total value of $387,596.34.
• On Friday, August 14th, Brent Woodford sold 7,238 shares of Walt Disney stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total value of $762,233.78.

Walt Disney Price Performance

NYSE:DIS opened at $119.03 on Thursday. The Walt Disney Company has a 52 week low of $92.18 and a 52 week high of $119.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $205.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $107.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.61.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The entertainment giant reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $25.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.39 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.90% and a net margin of 8.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on DIS. Yorkville Ives began coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Walt Disney from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, August 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.16.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walt Disney

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Walt Disney during the 2nd quarter worth $1,386,720,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Walt Disney by 13.6% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 14,272,449 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,375,579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,703,264 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 2.5% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 11,349,651 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,093,878,000 after acquiring an additional 273,128 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 2.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,416,858 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $714,736,000 after acquiring an additional 149,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 7.7% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,703,179 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $646,047,000 after acquiring an additional 480,104 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walt Disney News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Walt Disney this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Disney is reportedly considering thousands of job cuts, with some managers asked to identify savings of up to 20%. Lower costs could support margins, and CEO Josh D’Amaro reportedly plans to reinvest some savings in content, parks and cruises. Disney plans several thousand layoffs
• Positive Sentiment: Disney and WWE expanded their partnership, including a planned two-day event at ESPN Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World. The agreement may draw audiences and activity to Disney’s resort and sports businesses. Disney, WWE Ink Expanded Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Brent Woodford sold 6,474 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and retained 62,995 shares. The planned sale is a limited indicator of his view of the stock. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: The potential scale of the layoffs and broad savings targets create execution risks, including disruption to employees and possible effects on programming or park operations. The plans remain under consideration, and details are limited. Disney plans several thousand layoffs

About Walt Disney

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) is a global entertainment and media company that develops, produces and distributes branded content through film studios, television networks and streaming services. Its portfolio includes Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and other entertainment brands, with distribution through services such as Disney+ and Hulu.

Disney also operates ESPN and related sports media businesses, as well as theme parks, resorts, cruise lines and vacation experiences.