The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Shares Acquired by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,226 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,083 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $7,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farallon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walt Disney during the 2nd quarter valued at about $355,673,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Walt Disney by 12,574.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $329,585,000 after acquiring 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 during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 114.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,188,610 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.54.

Walt Disney Price Performance

DIS stock opened at $108.12 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $195.80 billion, a PE ratio of 39.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.51. The Walt Disney Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.91 and a fifty-two week high of $123.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. Walt Disney’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. 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 firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend is 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 36.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walt Disney news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total transaction of $42,667,242.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were 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 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.