Sunbelt Securities Inc. Raises Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 25.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,898 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,406 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farallon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Walt Disney in the second quarter valued at 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 valued at $329,585,000 after buying an additional 3,399,359 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position 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 last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,298,921 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,188,610 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 value 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 approximately $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of DIS stock opened at $114.90 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $103.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.92. 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 firm has a market cap of $208.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.42.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. Walt Disney’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.67.

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.