K2 Principal Fund L.P. Acquires Shares of 19,500 The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

K2 Principal Fund L.P. acquired a new position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 19,500 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,876,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Walt Disney in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 38.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 443 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 98.1% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walt Disney during the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Walt Disney by 148.7% in the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 557 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on DIS shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie increased their price objective on Walt Disney from $91.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock 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 assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.67.

Walt Disney Trading Up 0.2 %

Walt Disney stock opened at $116.73 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $102.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.69. The Walt Disney Company has a 52 week low of $83.91 and a 52 week high of $123.74. The stock has a market cap of $211.39 billion, a PE ratio of 43.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is 33.21%.

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 value of $568,100.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total transaction of $42,667,242.84. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.