Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 158,427 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $17,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DIS. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Walt Disney by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,773 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $6,210,000 after purchasing an additional 6,956 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 66.6% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $661,000 after buying an additional 2,374 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 7,489 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $834,000 after buying an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. Tenon Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 28,013 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,119,000 after acquiring an additional 3,272 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on DIS. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their price target on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of DIS stock opened at $110.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $200.43 billion, a PE ratio of 40.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.42. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.14. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. Research analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.