Busey Bank Raises Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Busey Bank lifted its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 190,651 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the quarter. Busey Bank’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $21,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Walt Disney by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $7,463,978,000 after purchasing an additional 490,681 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $3,609,833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,082 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,310,539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,765,389 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Walt Disney by 3.4% in 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 valued at $1,332,297,000 after acquiring an additional 454,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of DIS opened at $113.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.79 billion, a PE ratio of 41.73, 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 current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $112.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.33. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders 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 payout ratio is presently 36.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DIS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.52.

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.