Equitable Trust Co. Purchases 1,511 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Equitable Trust Co. lifted its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 16.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,483 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,511 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $7,463,978,000 after purchasing an additional 490,681 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 3.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,393,082 shares during 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 purchasing an additional 2,765,389 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 19,197,463 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,137,637,000 after purchasing an additional 3,636,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 454,678 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. The trade was a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.85.

Walt Disney Trading Down 1.5 %

Walt Disney stock opened at $109.23 on Tuesday. The Walt Disney Company has a 52 week low of $83.91 and a 52 week high of $123.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.58, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.26.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a dividend 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%.

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.