Zhang Financial LLC Makes New $224,000 Investment in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Zhang Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,010 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DIS. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Walt Disney in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Walt Disney during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Birch Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney during the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 98.1% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

Shares of Walt Disney stock opened at $107.07 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $112.08 and its 200-day moving average is $99.70. The Walt Disney Company has a one year low of $83.91 and a one year high of $123.74. The firm has a market cap of $193.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. Walt Disney’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict 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 disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is 36.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total value of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. This represents a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.