Farmers Trust Co. Increases Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Farmers Trust Co. grew its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,483 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 92 shares during the quarter. Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $7,463,978,000 after purchasing an additional 490,681 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $3,609,833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,082 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Walt Disney by 8.7% in 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 raised its holdings in Walt Disney by 3.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,281,047 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,417,958,000 after purchasing an additional 425,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position 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 worth $1,332,297,000 after purchasing an additional 454,678 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walt Disney Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:DIS traded down $1.69 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $109.70. The stock had a trading volume of 4,830,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,988,187. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.28. The Walt Disney Company has a 1-year low of $83.91 and a 1-year high of $123.74. 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 company has a market cap of $198.66 billion, a PE ratio of 40.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.43.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on DIS. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Bank of America raised their price target on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. This trade represents a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Company 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.