Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 114.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,298,921 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.24% of Walt Disney worth $414,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,490,492,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Walt Disney by 555.9% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 956,788 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $117,599,000 after acquiring an additional 810,923 shares during the last quarter. PGGM Investments bought a new position in Walt Disney during the first quarter valued at $1,036,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 22.2% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 704,887 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $67,803,000 after acquiring an additional 127,859 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 30.8% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,987 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,180,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Calvin Mcdonald bought 11,756 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $85.06 per share, for a total transaction of $999,965.36. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,897,943.78. The trade was a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walt Disney Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:DIS opened at $95.81 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $173.76 billion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The Walt Disney Company has a 12-month low of $81.82 and a 12-month high of $123.74. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.45.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The entertainment giant reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $23.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.08 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 8.64% and a net margin of 5.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DIS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Macquarie reduced their price target on Walt Disney from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays reduced their target price on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walt Disney presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $118.05.

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.