Whipplewood Advisors LLC Makes New $368,000 Investment in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,308 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock, valued at approximately $368,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $7,463,978,000 after purchasing an additional 490,681 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 3.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,609,833,000 after buying an additional 1,393,082 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 2,765,389 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake 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. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised 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 valued at $1,904,563,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300,912 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DIS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Prescient Securities reduced their target price on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen increased their price objective 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. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.44.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

Shares of Walt Disney stock opened at $111.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $202.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a twelve month low of $83.91 and a twelve month high of $123.74. The company’s fifty day moving average is $110.64 and its 200 day moving average is $103.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 6.07%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total value of $917,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,870.70. The trade was a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company 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.