Ballentine Partners LLC Increases Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,645 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,251 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $2,967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Walt Disney in the second quarter worth $32,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Walt Disney during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Birch Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Walt Disney during the 4th quarter worth $56,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank increased its position in Walt Disney by 98.1% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total value 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. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Up 0.6 %

DIS stock opened at $107.07 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $112.08 and its 200 day moving average is $99.70. The firm has a market cap of $193.90 billion, a PE ratio of 39.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. Walt Disney’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase 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 presently 36.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DIS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Loop Capital boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.54.

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.