W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co Takes Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co purchased a new position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,016 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 66,744 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $6,420,000 after acquiring an additional 5,184 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Walt Disney by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,411,205 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,001,454,000 after purchasing an additional 114,701 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 140,883 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $15,687,000 after purchasing an additional 13,339 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments increased its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 476.0% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 12,379 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 10,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the fourth quarter valued at about $15,125,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. The trade was a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

NYSE DIS opened at $108.62 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 6.07%. As a group, research analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on DIS. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, February 10th. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Redburn Atlantic raised Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.44.

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.