Forsta AP Fonden Boosts Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 493,600 shares of the entertainment giant's stock after buying an additional 21,100 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Walt Disney were worth $54,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Farmers Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Walt Disney by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 8,483 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. grew its position in Walt Disney by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 3,412 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co grew its position in Walt Disney by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 18,869 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $1,809,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC grew its position in Walt Disney by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 11,657 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Connable Office Inc. grew its position in Walt Disney by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 35,048 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $3,371,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walt Disney from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Raymond James restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $125.52.

Walt Disney Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of DIS stock traded up $0.94 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $113.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,601,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,389,669. The Walt Disney Company has a 1-year low of $83.91 and a 1-year high of $123.74. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $112.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.33. 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 company has a market capitalization of $204.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Walt Disney's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.90%.

Insider Activity

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