Walker Asset Management LLC Buys New Shares in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Walker Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,819 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DIS. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Walt Disney in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. First PREMIER Bank grew its stake in Walt Disney by 98.1% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walt Disney in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Birch Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walt Disney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walt Disney Stock Up 0.6 %

Walt Disney stock opened at $107.07 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $111.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The Walt Disney Company has a twelve month low of $83.91 and a twelve month high of $123.74. The company has a market capitalization of $193.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. Walt Disney’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,005,529.10. The trade was a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total value of $42,667,242.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on DIS shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective 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 assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.54.

About Walt Disney

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.