The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is Milestone Asset Management LLC's 7th Largest Position

Milestone Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS - Free Report) by 42.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,784 shares of the entertainment giant's stock after buying an additional 28,707 shares during the quarter. Walt Disney accounts for about 2.3% of Milestone Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Milestone Asset Management LLC's holdings in Walt Disney were worth $10,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DIS. State Street Corp raised its position in Walt Disney by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $7,463,978,000 after purchasing an additional 490,681 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 3.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $3,609,833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,082 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,765,389 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 3.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,850,678 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $1,332,297,000 after acquiring an additional 454,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,411,205 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $1,001,454,000 after acquiring an additional 114,701 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DIS shares. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $125.52.

Walt Disney Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE DIS traded up $1.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $114.24. The company had a trading volume of 3,520,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,178,878. The Walt Disney Company has a one year low of $83.91 and a one year high of $123.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $112.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.44. The stock has a market cap of $206.89 billion, a PE ratio of 42.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. Walt Disney's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Walt Disney's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following 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 trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. 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.