The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Stock Position Lifted by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,339 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 541 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Farallon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Walt Disney during the second quarter valued at $355,673,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew 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 valued at $329,585,000 after buying an additional 3,399,359 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,765,389 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted 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 worth $414,582,000 after acquiring an additional 2,298,921 shares during 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 during the period. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walt Disney news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.54.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $107.07 on Tuesday. The Walt Disney Company has a twelve month low of $83.91 and a twelve month high of $123.74. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $112.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.70. The company has a market capitalization of $193.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.51, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is currently 36.90%.

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.