Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Increases Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,801 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Birch Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walt Disney in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 98.1% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the third quarter worth $57,000. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of Walt Disney stock opened at $108.08 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.47. The Walt Disney Company has a 12-month low of $83.91 and a 12-month high of $123.74. The firm has a market cap of $195.73 billion, a PE ratio of 39.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on DIS. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.54.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,054,870.70. The trade was a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $42,667,242.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% 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.