Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,034 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the quarter. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DIS. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $7,463,978,000 after acquiring an additional 490,681 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,393,082 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position 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 worth $3,310,539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,765,389 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Walt Disney by 23.4% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 3.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE DIS opened at $109.48 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $110.95 and its 200-day moving average is $102.13. The Walt Disney Company has a one year low of $83.91 and a one year high of $123.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.66, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 6.07%. Equities research analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is presently 32.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total value of $917,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,870.70. This represents a 15.37 % 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, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total value of $42,667,242.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on DIS. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of 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 research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased 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. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.85.

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.