Pacer Advisors Inc. Purchases 9,322 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 143,851 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 9,322 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $16,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Farmers Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 8,483 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 3,412 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 18,869 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,809,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC grew its position in Walt Disney by 0.9% in the third quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 11,657 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Connable Office Inc. raised its stake in Walt Disney by 0.3% during the third quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 35,048 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,371,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DIS. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walt Disney Trading Down 1.0 %

DIS opened at $112.26 on Wednesday. The Walt Disney Company has a twelve month low of $83.91 and a twelve month high of $123.74. The firm has a market cap of $203.30 billion, a PE ratio of 41.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $112.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.22.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its 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. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The firm 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 company posted $0.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a yield of 0.6%. 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. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.90%.

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.