The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Shares Bought by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,656 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $3,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Walt Disney by 0.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,887,754 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $12,148,402,000 after purchasing an additional 994,575 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Walt Disney by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 46,172,567 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $4,011,473,000 after acquiring an additional 5,499,014 shares during the period. Trian Fund Management L.P. raised its stake in Walt Disney by 411.6% during the 3rd quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. now owns 32,868,307 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,663,976,000 after acquiring an additional 26,443,257 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Walt Disney by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 24,859,476 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,014,861,000 after acquiring an additional 2,384,407 shares during the period. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 109,924.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,666,275 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,056,126,000 after purchasing an additional 23,644,765 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total transaction of $226,405.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,400 shares in the company, valued at $536,448. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DIS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays raised Walt Disney from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.54.

Walt Disney Trading Up 0.2 %

DIS stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $112.61. The stock had a trading volume of 9,436,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,044,029. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $113.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $206.56 billion, a PE ratio of 69.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a 12-month low of $78.73 and a 12-month high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $23.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.71 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 3.36%. The firm’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.5%. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is 18.52%.

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.