Sanctuary Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 315,941 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 7,707 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $35,837,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DIS. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 19,197,463 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,137,637,000 after purchasing an additional 3,636,742 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 12,574.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $329,585,000 after purchasing an additional 3,399,359 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 8.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765,389 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 114.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $414,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 112.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $398,508,000 after purchasing an additional 2,188,610 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Up 0.7 %

Walt Disney stock opened at $110.31 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.42 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 fifty-two week low of $83.91 and a fifty-two week high of $123.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $111.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.85.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is 32.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. 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 note 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 note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Prescient Securities decreased 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 note on Tuesday, February 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Walt Disney

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.