Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 425,012 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 39.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,514,810 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 425,012 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $168,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Walt Disney by 132.1% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 50,978 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $5,060,000 after acquiring an additional 29,010 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 36,460.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,656 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 3,646 shares during the last quarter. Andra AP fonden bought a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,730,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Walt Disney during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,169,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the 2nd quarter worth about $15,367,000. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

DIS stock traded down $1.77 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $107.99. 2,783,488 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,947,310. The Walt Disney Company has a 52 week low of $83.91 and a 52 week high of $123.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $110.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.56 billion, a PE ratio of 39.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.43.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. Walt Disney’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on DIS. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.54.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total value of $42,667,242.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. The trade was a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.