Park Avenue Securities LLC Increases Stock Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,226 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,083 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $7,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,565,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in Walt Disney by 67.3% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 6,486 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 2,610 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Walt Disney in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,241,000. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Walt Disney by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,395 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,131,000 after buying an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,280 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DIS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.54.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In other news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total transaction of $42,667,242.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

Shares of DIS opened at $108.12 on Thursday. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.51. The company has a market capitalization of $195.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.90, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion for 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

About Walt Disney

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.