Palisade Asset Management LLC Has $604,000 Stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Palisade Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,687 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 829 shares during the quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Walt Disney by 0.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,887,754 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $12,148,402,000 after purchasing an additional 994,575 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 0.4% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,318,444 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,592,010,000 after acquiring an additional 195,512 shares in the last quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. grew its stake in Walt Disney by 411.6% in the third quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. now owns 32,868,307 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,663,976,000 after acquiring an additional 26,443,257 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 10.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 24,859,476 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,014,861,000 after acquiring an additional 2,384,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 21.0% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 14,416,343 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,168,444,000 after purchasing an additional 2,505,486 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on DIS. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $136.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Walt Disney in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.17.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of Walt Disney stock traded down $11.07 on Tuesday, reaching $105.40. 55,026,769 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,064,021. The Walt Disney Company has a one year low of $78.73 and a one year high of $123.74. The firm has a market cap of $193.34 billion, a PE ratio of 65.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $114.59 and its 200-day moving average is $101.21.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. Walt Disney’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.7 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is 18.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total value of $226,405.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $536,448. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.