Clarius Group LLC Raises Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Clarius Group LLC grew its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,180 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 947 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farallon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the second quarter valued at about $355,673,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Walt Disney by 12,574.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Walt Disney by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,310,539,000 after buying an additional 2,765,389 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 114.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $414,582,000 after buying an additional 2,298,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 112.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $398,508,000 after buying an additional 2,188,610 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. The trade was a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total value of $42,667,242.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 90 days, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

Walt Disney stock opened at $107.07 on Friday. The Walt Disney Company has a 1-year low of $83.91 and a 1-year 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 firm has a market capitalization of $193.90 billion, a PE ratio of 39.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.67.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. 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. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on DIS. Loop Capital increased their price target on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.54.

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.