Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Makes New Investment in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 14,888 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,621,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Walt Disney during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 38.1% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 399 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Walt Disney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its holdings in Walt Disney by 98.1% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on DIS shares. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective 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. Finally, Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, January 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.52.

Walt Disney Stock Up 0.9 %

DIS opened at $113.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $204.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $112.46 and its 200 day moving average is $100.11. The Walt Disney Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.91 and a fifty-two week high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The firm had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walt Disney news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.