3,730 Shares in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Purchased by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 3,730 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in Walt Disney by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 6,646,336 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $600,098,000 after buying an additional 1,716,259 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Walt Disney by 151.8% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 42,308 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,820,000 after buying an additional 25,505 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 3,900 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143 shares during the period. Kelman Lazarov Inc. lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Kelman Lazarov Inc. now owns 3,583 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified LLC lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Diversified LLC now owns 6,047 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

DIS stock opened at $112.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $114.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.66. The Walt Disney Company has a fifty-two week low of $78.73 and a fifty-two week high of $123.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.78 billion, a PE ratio of 69.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.42.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.25. Walt Disney had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The firm had revenue of $23.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. Walt Disney’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total transaction of $226,405.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $536,448. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on DIS shares. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $129.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.08.

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.