Natixis Advisors L.P. Raises Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 38.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,981,272 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 547,636 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $178,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DIS. Avitas Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Walt Disney by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,037 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $997,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. WNY Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Walt Disney by 32.8% during the third quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 9,321 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 2,304 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Walt Disney by 4.9% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,024 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 74,767 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $6,751,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tempus Wealth Planning LLC boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 12,722 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,031,000 after buying an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DIS shares. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $129.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $136.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $536,448. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE DIS traded up $1.98 on Thursday, reaching $112.46. The company had a trading volume of 3,775,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,528,316. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.29 billion, a PE ratio of 68.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $114.28 and a 200-day moving average of $100.32. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $78.73 and a 1 year high of $123.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.25. Walt Disney had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The firm had revenue of $23.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

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

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.