AdvisorNet Financial Inc Raises Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,426 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Walt Disney during the second quarter valued at $55,565,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 67.3% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 6,486 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 2,610 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,241,000. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 12.5% in the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,395 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,131,000 after buying an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Walt Disney by 9.5% during the second quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,280 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on DIS shares. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.54.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DIS opened at $108.12 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $111.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.51. The Walt Disney Company has a 12-month low of $83.91 and a 12-month high of $123.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $195.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.90, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.43.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is 36.90%.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,054,870.70. This trade represents a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 over the last ninety days. 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.