Golden State Equity Partners Buys 542 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Golden State Equity Partners boosted its stake in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,208 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 542 shares during the quarter. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Walt Disney were worth $561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DIS. Evolution Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 38.2% during the 4th quarter. Evolution Advisers Inc. now owns 380 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Walt Disney by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,975 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Walt Disney by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 16,514 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Kelman Lazarov Inc. grew its holdings in Walt Disney by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Kelman Lazarov Inc. now owns 3,583 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walt Disney by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 24,096 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on DIS. Macquarie lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays upgraded Walt Disney from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, March 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.08.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

DIS traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $112.73. 6,304,843 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,049,604. The Walt Disney Company has a 52 week low of $78.73 and a 52 week high of $123.74. The stock has a market cap of $206.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.59, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $114.18 and a 200 day moving average of $99.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.25. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 3.36%. The company had revenue of $23.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.5%. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is 18.52%.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In other news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total value of $226,405.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $536,448. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney 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.