Rockingstone Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Rockingstone Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,500 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock, valued at approximately $390,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DIS. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $7,463,978,000 after acquiring an additional 490,681 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,609,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,082 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 8.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765,389 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Walt Disney by 3.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,281,047 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,417,958,000 after buying an additional 425,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Walt Disney by 3.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,850,678 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,332,297,000 after buying an additional 454,678 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

NYSE DIS opened at $108.12 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $195.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.90, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The Walt Disney Company has a 1-year low of $83.91 and a 1-year high of $123.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $111.58 and a 200-day moving average of $99.51.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DIS. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Guggenheim upped 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Five equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,005,529.10. The trade was a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total transaction of $42,667,242.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.