GoalVest Advisory LLC Buys 150 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 29.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 657 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $73,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DIS. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 12,574.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $329,585,000 after buying an additional 3,399,359 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Walt Disney by 8.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765,389 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Walt Disney by 114.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $414,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298,921 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Walt Disney by 112.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $398,508,000 after purchasing an additional 2,188,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Walt Disney by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,609,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,082 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DIS. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.52.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $108.86 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.14 billion, a PE ratio of 40.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The Walt Disney Company has a 52 week low of $83.91 and a 52 week high of $123.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $112.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,870.70. This trade represents a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. Company 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.