Forsta AP Fonden Raises Stock Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Forsta AP Fonden boosted its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 493,600 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,100 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $54,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the second quarter worth $32,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walt Disney by 38.1% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 399 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 98.1% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walt Disney Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE DIS opened at $112.26 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $112.45 and its 200 day moving average is $100.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.30 billion, a PE ratio of 41.43, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43. 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 Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.57 billion for 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is 36.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DIS shares. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.52.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total value of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,870.70. This represents a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.