Empirical Asset Management LLC Acquires 117,408 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Empirical Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 1,078.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 128,294 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 117,408 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $14,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cvfg LLC bought a new stake in Walt Disney in the 4th quarter worth about $371,000. Morton Capital Management LLC CA boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 5,813 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,544 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,288,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $810,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JGP Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walt Disney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DIS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted 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. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.54.

Walt Disney Price Performance

DIS stock opened at $106.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $192.65 billion, a PE ratio of 39.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $111.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.58. The Walt Disney Company has a one year low of $83.91 and a one year high of $123.74. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is 36.90%.

Insider Activity

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,054,870.70. This trade represents a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.