First Merchants Corp Has $3.40 Million Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

First Merchants Corp grew its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,509 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 386 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $3,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Walt Disney by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 19,197,463 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,137,637,000 after acquiring an additional 3,636,742 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $329,585,000 after purchasing an additional 3,399,359 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,765,389 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Walt Disney by 114.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,298,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake 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 valued at $398,508,000 after buying an additional 2,188,610 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $100.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Prescient Securities lowered their price target on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.85.

Walt Disney Stock Up 0.3 %

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

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is 32.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 over the last three months. 0.16% 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.