Jennison Associates LLC Takes Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 12,181,207 shares of the entertainment giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,490,492,000. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.66% of Walt Disney as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 8.5% in the first quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,482 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 31.3% in the first quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 6,633 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,580 shares during the last quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 17.9% in the first quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,185 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $512,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 4.4% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 7,766 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $950,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the first quarter worth $214,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DIS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $113.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Moffett Nathanson lowered their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walt Disney from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Macquarie increased their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $104.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $126.44.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

DIS stock traded down $0.62 during trading on Monday, reaching $97.37. 8,160,609 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,429,688. The Walt Disney Company has a twelve month low of $78.73 and a twelve month high of $123.74. The company has a market capitalization of $177.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The entertainment giant reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $22.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.12 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 8.37% and a net margin of 1.90%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In related news, Director James P. Gorman acquired 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $106.03 per share, with a total value of $2,120,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 20,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,170,116.01. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 4,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.00, for a total value of $466,400.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James P. Gorman bought 20,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $106.03 per share, for a total transaction of $2,120,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,467 shares in the company, valued at $2,170,116.01. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company 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.

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