Liberty One Investment Management LLC Boosts Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,548 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Walt Disney in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Walt Disney during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 98.1% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Walt Disney in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Walt Disney during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’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 value of $42,667,242.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % 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. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on DIS shares. Redburn Atlantic raised Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.54.

Walt Disney Stock Up 0.6 %

Walt Disney stock opened at $107.07 on Monday. 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 market cap of $193.90 billion, a PE ratio of 39.51, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.69.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted 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. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change 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 presently 36.90%.

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.