ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Stake in The Walt Disney Company $DIS

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 13.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,435 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 994 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $798,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 222,747 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $21,983,000 after buying an additional 16,781 shares during the last quarter. Planning Directions Inc. bought a new position in Walt Disney in the 1st quarter worth $326,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in Walt Disney in the 2nd quarter worth $4,220,599,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in Walt Disney by 8,744.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 320,329 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $39,724,000 after purchasing an additional 316,707 shares during the period. Finally, WoodTrust Financial Corp raised its holdings in Walt Disney by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 96,158 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $9,491,000 after purchasing an additional 6,047 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on DIS shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Walt Disney from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, August 11th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.18.

Walt Disney Price Performance

NYSE:DIS opened at $112.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $109.95. The stock has a market cap of $202.25 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.54. The Walt Disney Company has a 52 week low of $80.10 and a 52 week high of $124.69.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $23.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.69 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 12.22%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.