Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $198.05 Million Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS - Free Report) by 6.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,058,923 shares of the entertainment giant's stock after selling 144,890 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Walt Disney worth $198,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Walt Disney during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 38.0% during the second quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 443 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 98.1% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Walt Disney in the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $42,667,242.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % 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 worth $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walt Disney Trading Up 0.6 %

DIS stock traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $112.03. 17,726,764 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,848,875. The Walt Disney Company has a 52-week low of $83.91 and a 52-week high of $123.74. The stock's fifty day moving average is $106.21 and its 200-day moving average is $98.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $202.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Walt Disney's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

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.