Palouse Capital Management Inc. Purchases 7,675 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Palouse Capital Management Inc. grew its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 58.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 20,779 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 7,675 shares during the quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $2,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Walt Disney by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 399 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DIS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Prescient Securities lowered their price target on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.85.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total value of $42,667,242.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE DIS opened at $110.31 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $111.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The Walt Disney Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.91 and a fifty-two week high of $123.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.42 billion, a PE ratio of 35.93, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.42.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 9.95%. Equities analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 dividend payout ratio is 32.57%.

Walt Disney 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.