New Jersey Better Educational Savings Trust Purchases New Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

New Jersey Better Educational Savings Trust purchased a new stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,077 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000. Walt Disney accounts for 0.4% of New Jersey Better Educational Savings Trust’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Walt Disney by 8.4% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 66,744 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $6,420,000 after buying an additional 5,184 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Walt Disney by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,411,205 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,001,454,000 after buying an additional 114,701 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in Walt Disney by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 140,883 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $15,687,000 after purchasing an additional 13,339 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments boosted its position in Walt Disney by 476.0% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 12,379 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 10,230 shares during the period. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Walt Disney during the fourth quarter worth about $15,125,000. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Trading Up 0.7 %

DIS stock opened at $110.31 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $199.42 billion, a PE ratio of 35.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a one year low of $83.91 and a one year high of $123.74. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $111.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 9.95%. As a group, analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total value of $917,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. This trade represents a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’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 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 $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on DIS shares. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Prescient Securities cut their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.85.

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.