Joule Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Joule Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,389 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the quarter. Joule Financial LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DIS. State Street Corp boosted its holdings 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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 worth $3,609,833,000 after buying an additional 1,393,082 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 8.7% during the third 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 during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Walt Disney by 3.1% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 3.4% in the third 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 period. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on DIS. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.54.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

Shares of DIS stock 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $193.90 billion, a PE ratio of 39.51, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. Analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the company’s 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 owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. This represents a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

About Walt Disney

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.