Optas LLC Raises Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Optas LLC grew its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,613 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 98.1% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 65.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Walt Disney stock opened at $114.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $206.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.10, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $112.34 and its 200 day moving average is $100.66. 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 Walt Disney Company has a 52-week low of $83.91 and a 52-week high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. Walt Disney’s revenue 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DIS. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.52.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Walt Disney

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.