Calamos Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 0.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 620,848 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,007 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $61,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walt Disney by 14.3% in the first quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,473 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,317,000 after purchasing an additional 2,929 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Walt Disney by 6.9% in the first quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 37,001 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,652,000 after purchasing an additional 2,396 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Walt Disney during the first quarter valued at about $1,337,000. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Walt Disney by 3.6% during the first quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,527 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096 shares during the period. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in Walt Disney by 3.0% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 17,600 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DIS opened at $123.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $80.10 and a 1 year high of $124.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.29. The firm has a market cap of $222.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.56.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The entertainment giant reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.24. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.99% and a net margin of 9.47%. The business had revenue of $23.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Walt Disney’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DIS. Barclays upped their target price on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $144.00 in a report on Monday. Loop Capital increased their price target on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Walt Disney from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $112.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.84, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,831 shares in the company, valued at $5,190,748.04. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.