135,832 Shares in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Bought by Avanza Fonder AB

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 135,832 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock, valued at approximately $15,125,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 0.6% in 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 buying an additional 490,681 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 3.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,609,833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,082 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,310,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765,389 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 3.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,281,047 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,417,958,000 after buying an additional 425,438 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 454,678 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DIS. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 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 issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.54.

Walt Disney Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of DIS stock opened at $106.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.90%.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 three months, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.