Principal Securities Inc. Boosts Stock Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 4.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 58,774 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $5,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 153,769,084 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $18,815,185,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325,582 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 10.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,883,983 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,477,831,000 after purchasing an additional 1,449,730 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 425,438 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney during the first quarter worth about $1,490,492,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 2.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,040,297 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,473,252,000 after purchasing an additional 293,482 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walt Disney news, Director Calvin Mcdonald bought 11,756 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $85.06 per share, with a total value of $999,965.36. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,313 shares in the company, valued at $1,897,943.78. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $95.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $173.76 billion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $93.16 and a 200 day moving average of $97.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.72. The Walt Disney Company has a one year low of $81.82 and a one year high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The entertainment giant reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.19. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 8.64%. The company had revenue of $23.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DIS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Walt Disney from $145.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $118.05.

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.