Highland Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Highland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS - Free Report) by 24.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,750 shares of the entertainment giant's stock after purchasing an additional 9,500 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Walt Disney were worth $5,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Walt Disney by 8.4% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 66,744 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $6,420,000 after acquiring an additional 5,184 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,411,205 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $1,001,454,000 after buying an additional 114,701 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 140,883 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $15,687,000 after buying an additional 13,339 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 476.0% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 12,379 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $1,191,000 after acquiring an additional 10,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in Walt Disney during the fourth quarter worth $15,125,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on DIS. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 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 company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $125.52.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Walt Disney stock traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $113.46. The company had a trading volume of 3,878,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,195,170. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $112.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.44. The company has a market capitalization of $205.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

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

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Walt Disney's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.90%.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.