Ritholtz Wealth Management Buys 1,195 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,077 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $2,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Walt Disney in the second quarter worth $32,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in Walt Disney by 98.1% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walt Disney during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Birch Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Walt Disney in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on DIS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.54.

Walt Disney Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:DIS opened at $107.07 on Friday. The Walt Disney Company has a 52-week low of $83.91 and a 52-week high of $123.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $193.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.62.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. 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. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

Walt Disney Company 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.