Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 425,012 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 39.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,514,810 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 425,012 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned 0.08% of Walt Disney worth $168,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 98.1% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Birch Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Walt Disney during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. This represents a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on DIS. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.54.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

Shares of DIS stock traded down $1.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $107.99. 2,783,488 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,947,310. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.85, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73. The Walt Disney Company has a 52 week low of $83.91 and a 52 week high of $123.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $110.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.40.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

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

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.