Ballast Inc. Raises Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Ballast Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,207 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the quarter. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DIS. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $7,463,978,000 after acquiring an additional 490,681 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walt Disney by 3.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,609,833,000 after buying an additional 1,393,082 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after buying an additional 2,765,389 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,281,047 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,417,958,000 after acquiring an additional 425,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,850,678 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,332,297,000 after purchasing an additional 454,678 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of DIS opened at $107.07 on Friday. The Walt Disney Company has a 12 month low of $83.91 and a 12 month high of $123.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $112.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $193.90 billion, a PE ratio of 39.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,054,870.70. This trade represents a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total transaction of $42,667,242.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on DIS shares. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Guggenheim upped their target price 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. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.54.

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.