The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Stake Lifted by Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC

Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC raised its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 43,299 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 408 shares during the quarter. Walt Disney makes up about 1.6% of Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $4,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Walt Disney by 12,574.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $329,585,000 after buying an additional 3,399,359 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 8.7% during the third 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. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 114.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $414,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298,921 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Walt Disney by 112.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $398,508,000 after buying an additional 2,188,610 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 3.8% during 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 buying an additional 1,393,082 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,005,529.10. The trade was a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DIS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.52.

Walt Disney Stock Up 2.0 %

DIS stock opened at $111.02 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 firm has a market cap of $201.04 billion, a PE ratio of 40.96, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.90.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS 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%. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is 36.90%.

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.