ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Acquires 750 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,975 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Farallon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walt Disney during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $355,673,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Walt Disney by 12,574.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $329,585,000 after buying an additional 3,399,359 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 114.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $414,582,000 after buying an additional 2,298,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 112.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $398,508,000 after acquiring an additional 2,188,610 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the company’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 value of $42,667,242.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the business’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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $108.12 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $195.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.90, a PEG ratio of 2.03 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 fifty-two week low of $83.91 and a fifty-two week high of $123.74. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.51.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its earnings results 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 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.54.

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.