Empirical Asset Management LLC Purchases 117,408 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Empirical Asset Management LLC raised its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 1,078.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 128,294 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 117,408 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $14,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DIS. Farmers Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 8,483 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $945,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 18,869 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,809,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 11,657 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Connable Office Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 0.3% during the third quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 35,048 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,371,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Walt Disney by 1.9% in the third quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,017 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.54.

Walt Disney Stock Down 1.7 %

DIS stock opened at $106.38 on Friday. The Walt Disney Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.91 and a fifty-two week high of $123.74. The company has a market capitalization of $192.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $111.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. 0.10% 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.