Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 5,955 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,900 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,955 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $4,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DIS. Farallon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the second quarter valued at about $355,673,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 12,574.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $329,585,000 after acquiring an additional 3,399,359 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 2,765,389 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 114.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $414,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298,921 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 112.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $398,508,000 after purchasing an additional 2,188,610 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DIS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.54.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

DIS stock opened at $107.07 on Friday. 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 Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74. The company has a market cap of $193.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $112.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.67.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In other Walt Disney news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. The trade was a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.