Sherman Asset Management Inc. Buys Shares of 2,232 The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Sherman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,232 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 0.6% during the third 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 lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 3.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,393,082 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,765,389 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,104,295 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,904,563,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300,912 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. The trade was a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walt Disney Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of DIS stock opened at $113.82 on Friday. The Walt Disney Company has a 1-year low of $83.91 and a 1-year high of $123.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $110.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $205.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.42.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 6.07%. On average, research analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is currently 32.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on DIS shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, November 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.44.

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.