ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Stock Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,339 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $7,463,978,000 after purchasing an additional 490,681 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Walt Disney by 3.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,609,833,000 after buying an additional 1,393,082 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,765,389 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 3.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,281,047 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,417,958,000 after acquiring an additional 425,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 454,678 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DIS. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America increased their price target on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walt Disney news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total transaction of $42,667,242.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. The trade was a 10.19 % 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 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of DIS opened at $107.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The Walt Disney Company has a 12 month low of $83.91 and a 12 month high of $123.74. The stock has a market cap of $193.90 billion, a PE ratio of 39.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $112.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.70.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. Walt Disney’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. 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 company also recently declared 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 36.90%.

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.