The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Stock Holdings Lessened by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,798 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 4,544 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $750,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in Walt Disney by 84.6% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,000,267 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $244,754,000 after purchasing an additional 916,772 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Walt Disney during the 1st quarter valued at $1,490,492,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 4.2% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 556,658 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $68,113,000 after acquiring an additional 22,568 shares during the last quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 41.3% in the first quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 175,900 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $21,523,000 after acquiring an additional 51,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 555.9% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 956,788 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $117,599,000 after acquiring an additional 810,923 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walt Disney Stock Up 2.7 %

DIS stock opened at $96.75 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The Walt Disney Company has a 52-week low of $79.23 and a 52-week high of $123.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $91.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.40.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The entertainment giant reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.19. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 8.64%. The business had revenue of $23.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In related news, Director Calvin Mcdonald bought 11,756 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $85.06 per share, for a total transaction of $999,965.36. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 22,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,897,943.78. This represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on DIS shares. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $130.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $139.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Macquarie dropped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.05.

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.