Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 37.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 15,921 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 4,354 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $1,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Walt Disney by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $7,463,978,000 after buying an additional 490,681 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 3.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,609,833,000 after buying an additional 1,393,082 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 8.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after buying an additional 2,765,389 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 19,197,463 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,137,637,000 after buying an additional 3,636,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 3.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,850,678 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,332,297,000 after purchasing an additional 454,678 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total value of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. The trade was a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DIS. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.85.

Walt Disney Price Performance

DIS opened at $110.31 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $111.14 and a 200 day moving average of $101.85. The Walt Disney Company has a 52-week low of $83.91 and a 52-week high of $123.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $199.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.93, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.42.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 6.07%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is presently 32.57%.

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.