Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,369 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock, valued at approximately $124,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Trian Fund Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 411.6% during the 3rd quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. now owns 32,868,307 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,663,976,000 after buying an additional 26,443,257 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 109,924.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,666,275 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,056,126,000 after buying an additional 23,644,765 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the 4th quarter valued at $1,433,075,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 46,172,567 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $4,011,473,000 after buying an additional 5,499,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walt Disney during the 3rd quarter valued at $326,171,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total value of $226,405.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $536,448. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Trading Up 0.2 %

DIS stock traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $112.61. 9,436,023 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,044,029. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.56 billion, a PE ratio of 69.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $78.73 and a 1 year high of $123.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $113.98 and a 200-day moving average of $98.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $23.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.71 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 3.36%. Walt Disney’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. Analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DIS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walt Disney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.54.

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.