Patron Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Patron Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 34.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,007 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 769 shares during the quarter. Patron Partners LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DIS. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $7,463,978,000 after acquiring an additional 490,681 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 3.8% during the 3rd 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 valued at $3,310,539,000 after buying an additional 2,765,389 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 23.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,636,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 3.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,850,678 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,332,297,000 after purchasing an additional 454,678 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walt Disney news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, 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 valued at $44,153,263. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DIS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Five investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.52.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

Shares of DIS opened at $114.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s fifty day moving average is $112.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.66. 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 Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

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.