Nordea Investment Management AB Acquires 299,604 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 21.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,693,316 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 299,604 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $188,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its position in Walt Disney by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 18,869 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,809,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC raised its holdings in Walt Disney by 0.9% during the third quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 11,657 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Connable Office Inc. boosted its position in Walt Disney by 0.3% during the third quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 35,048 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,371,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Walt Disney by 1.9% in the third quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,017 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Absher Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walt Disney by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,141 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,360,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on DIS. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler started coverage on Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.58.

Walt Disney Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DIS opened at $110.90 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.21. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $200.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.43.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. Walt Disney’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.90%.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the completion of 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.