Latitude Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Latitude Advisors LLC lifted its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,911 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Latitude Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $324,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 4,241 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 38.3% in the third quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 2,591 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 5,476 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 3,615 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 178.7% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 16,844 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,620,000 after buying an additional 10,800 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. This trade represents a 15.37 % 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 worth $44,153,263 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $109.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $111.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.58, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a 52-week low of $83.91 and a 52-week high of $123.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.68.

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

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DIS shares. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price target on Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.85.

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.