First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 4,790 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 92,457 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,790 shares during the period. Walt Disney comprises approximately 2.1% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $10,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of DIS. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 19,197,463 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,137,637,000 after acquiring an additional 3,636,742 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Walt Disney by 12,574.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $329,585,000 after acquiring an additional 3,399,359 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Walt Disney by 8.7% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $414,582,000 after buying an additional 2,298,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 112.0% in the third 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 in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In other Walt Disney news, 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. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on DIS. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Prescient Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.85.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of Walt Disney stock opened at $109.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $197.47 billion, a PE ratio of 35.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a 12-month low of $83.91 and a 12-month high of $123.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.26.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 9.95%. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 32.57%.

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.