Busey Bank Increases Stock Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Busey Bank increased its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 190,651 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,497 shares during the quarter. Busey Bank’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $21,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Walt Disney in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. First PREMIER Bank increased its stake in Walt Disney by 98.1% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired 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 in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DIS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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 company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.52.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the company’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 value of $42,667,242.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. The trade was a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Walt Disney stock opened at $113.08 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $112.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.33. The firm has a market cap of $204.79 billion, a PE ratio of 41.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.90%.

Walt Disney Company 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.