Morse Asset Management Inc Acquires 199 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Morse Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 1.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,326 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $2,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 84.6% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,000,267 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $244,754,000 after acquiring an additional 916,772 shares during the period. Avitas Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,037 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $997,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 74,767 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $6,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 7,744 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in Walt Disney in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,490,492,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Up 0.8 %

Walt Disney stock traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $89.93. The stock had a trading volume of 11,301,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,272,014. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $99.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.37. The company has a market capitalization of $163.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.75, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The Walt Disney Company has a 12 month low of $78.73 and a 12 month high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The entertainment giant reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 8.37% and a net margin of 1.90%. The firm had revenue of $22.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on DIS. Daiwa Capital Markets restated a “buy” rating and issued a $133.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Argus raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 4,400 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.00, for a total transaction of $466,400.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director James P. Gorman acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $106.03 per share, with a total value of $2,120,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,170,116.01. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 4,400 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.00, for a total value of $466,400.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney 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.