Ballentine Partners LLC Boosts Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,645 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,251 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $2,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Walt Disney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 98.1% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the third quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $107.07 on Tuesday. The Walt Disney Company has a 1-year low of $83.91 and a 1-year high of $123.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business’s 50 day moving average is $112.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.51, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DIS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, January 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.