Meritage Portfolio Management Increases Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 45.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,781 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in Walt Disney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. BIP Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter worth $244,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 104,318 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $9,419,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC bought a new stake in Walt Disney during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,540,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Walt Disney by 88.1% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 6,170 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 2,890 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total transaction of $226,405.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $536,448. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Walt Disney from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Macquarie boosted their target price on Walt Disney from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Walt Disney in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $133.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.08.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

NYSE DIS opened at $112.73 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $114.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a fifty-two week low of $78.73 and a fifty-two week high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $23.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.71 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 7.88%. Walt Disney’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.52%.

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.