The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Shares Bought by AdvisorNet Financial Inc

AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,426 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DIS. Farallon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Walt Disney during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $355,673,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 12,574.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $329,585,000 after purchasing an additional 3,399,359 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 8.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765,389 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 114.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $414,582,000 after buying an additional 2,298,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 112.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $398,508,000 after buying an additional 2,188,610 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DIS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.54.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total value of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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 Stock Performance

Walt Disney stock opened at $108.12 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $111.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.51. The Walt Disney Company has a 52 week low of $83.91 and a 52 week high of $123.74. The stock has a market cap of $195.80 billion, a PE ratio of 39.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.43. 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 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. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s payout ratio 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.