Root Financial Partners LLC Buys New Shares in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,962 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DIS. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Walt Disney by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $7,463,978,000 after purchasing an additional 490,681 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Walt Disney by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,609,833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,082 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Walt Disney by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,765,389 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Walt Disney by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 19,197,463 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,137,637,000 after acquiring an additional 3,636,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 3.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,850,678 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,332,297,000 after purchasing an additional 454,678 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. The trade was a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total transaction of $42,667,242.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DIS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, February 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.85.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

NYSE:DIS opened at $110.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $199.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $111.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.72. The Walt Disney Company has a twelve month low of $83.91 and a twelve month high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 9.95%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is 32.57%.

Walt Disney Profile

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.