National Pension Service Raises Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,741,972 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 39,923 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.21% of Walt Disney worth $416,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DIS. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 23.4% in 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. 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 worth $3,310,539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,765,389 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,104,295 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,904,563,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300,912 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Walt Disney by 114.4% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 112.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,188,610 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of Walt Disney stock opened at $110.57 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.68. The Walt Disney Company has a 52-week low of $83.91 and a 52-week high of $123.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $110.63 and a 200-day moving average of $102.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.42.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Walt Disney from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,870.70. This represents a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.