Shellback Capital LP Buys Shares of 80,000 The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Shellback Capital LP bought a new position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 80,000 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock, valued at approximately $8,908,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walt Disney in the fourth quarter valued at $2,415,427,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 1,900.0% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,735,961 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $638,699,000 after buying an additional 5,449,158 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,858,108 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,209,050,000 after purchasing an additional 4,680,930 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Walt Disney by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 19,197,463 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,137,637,000 after buying an additional 3,636,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Walt Disney during the fourth quarter worth about $358,151,000. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DIS shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Walt Disney from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $112.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Prescient Securities cut their price objective on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.54.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

Shares of DIS opened at $112.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $94.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.54. The Walt Disney Company has a 52 week low of $80.10 and a 52 week high of $118.63. The stock has a market cap of $201.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.49.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $23.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.84, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,190,748.04. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.