Vicus Capital Raises Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Vicus Capital boosted its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 325 shares during the quarter. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DIS. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in 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 boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 12,574.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $329,585,000 after acquiring an additional 3,399,359 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 8.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,310,539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,765,389 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,298,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 112.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $398,508,000 after acquiring an additional 2,188,610 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total transaction of $42,667,242.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Up 0.3 %

DIS opened at $109.56 on Friday. The Walt Disney Company has a twelve month low of $83.91 and a twelve month high of $123.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $111.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.67. The company has a market cap of $198.06 billion, a PE ratio of 35.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.42.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 9.95%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.43 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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DIS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday. Finally, Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, January 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walt Disney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.85.

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.