The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Shares Acquired by Reliant Investment Management LLC

Reliant Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 41,500 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Walt Disney makes up approximately 2.0% of Reliant Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Reliant Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $4,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Birch Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 98.1% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on DIS shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. The trade was a 15.37 % 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 valued at $44,153,263 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $107.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $193.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.51, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.43. The Walt Disney Company has a 52 week low of $83.91 and a 52 week high of $123.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $112.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

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

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.