The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Shares Bought by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,479 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DIS. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 4.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 107,880 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $10,377,000 after acquiring an additional 4,878 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Walt Disney by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 66,531 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $6,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 2.6% in the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 105,663 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $10,164,000 after buying an additional 2,657 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 5.3% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,416,537 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $135,398,000 after buying an additional 71,908 shares during the period. Finally, Bristlecone Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 3.0% during the third quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 42,462 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $4,084,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,870.70. This represents a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walt Disney Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DIS opened at $108.62 on Monday. 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 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $196.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $110.70 and its 200-day moving average is $102.58.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 6.07%. Equities research analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is currently 32.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on DIS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.44.

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.