Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Has $8.34 Million Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 74,924 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 937 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $8,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Farmers Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 8,483 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,471 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 8,732 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $972,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 3,412 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Onefund LLC raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Onefund LLC now owns 4,856 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total value of $917,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,054,870.70. This represents a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DIS. Prescient Securities cut their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim upped their target price 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned 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 $125.64.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of DIS stock opened at $108.87 on Wednesday. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $110.63 and its 200-day moving average is $103.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.46, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 9.95%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a dividend 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 is Tuesday, June 24th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.57%.

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.