The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 206,463 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 4,230 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $22,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 19,197,463 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,137,637,000 after buying an additional 3,636,742 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Walt Disney by 12,574.4% during the third 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 period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,310,539,000 after buying an additional 2,765,389 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 114.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $414,582,000 after buying an additional 2,298,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 112.0% in 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 period. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on DIS shares. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.65.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DIS opened at $110.41 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $199.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a 12-month low of $83.91 and a 12-month high of $123.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $112.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.89.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. Equities analysts expect 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 was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,054,870.70. This trade represents a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. This trade represents 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 valued at $44,153,263 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by 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.