Birch Capital Management LLC Acquires New Shares in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Birch Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 500 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock, valued at approximately $56,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smithfield Trust Co raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 0.5% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 18,869 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,809,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 11,657 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Connable Office Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 35,048 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,371,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 1.9% during the third quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,017 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Absher Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walt Disney by 0.8% in the third quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,141 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,360,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

NYSE DIS traded up $1.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $112.17. 4,589,862 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,459,067. The company has a market capitalization of $203.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.43. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $109.99 and its 200-day moving average is $99.21. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74.

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

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is presently 36.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DIS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Monday. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.54.

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.