Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 38.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 48,239 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,446 shares during the quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $5,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 8.4% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 66,744 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $6,420,000 after buying an additional 5,184 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,411,205 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,001,454,000 after acquiring an additional 114,701 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 140,883 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $15,687,000 after acquiring an additional 13,339 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 476.0% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 12,379 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 10,230 shares during the period. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Walt Disney during the fourth quarter worth about $15,125,000. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walt Disney Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:DIS opened at $112.25 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $112.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The Walt Disney Company has a 12-month low of $83.91 and a 12-month high of $123.74. The firm has a market cap of $203.28 billion, a PE ratio of 41.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. 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. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on DIS. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.52.

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.