Donoghue Forlines LLC Makes New $2.08 Million Investment in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 18,641 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock, valued at approximately $2,076,000. Walt Disney accounts for about 0.7% of Donoghue Forlines LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Walt Disney in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Walt Disney during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Birch Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 98.1% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on DIS shares. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” 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. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.52.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

DIS stock opened at $108.74 on Thursday. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74. The company has a market cap of $196.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $112.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.90.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. Walt Disney’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 value of $42,667,242.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. This represents 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 worth $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.