Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Takes Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,369 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock, valued at approximately $124,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Compton Capital Management Inc. RI raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 0.5% in the first quarter. Compton Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 20,689 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,838,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its position in Walt Disney by 2.9% during the first quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Linscomb & Williams Inc. increased its position in Walt Disney by 1.9% during the first quarter. Linscomb & Williams Inc. now owns 5,582 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $766,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Walt Disney by 0.7% during the third quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 16,514 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,338,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in Walt Disney by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 24,096 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,176,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Barclays upgraded shares of Walt Disney from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $129.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.54.

Walt Disney Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of DIS traded up $0.18 on Friday, hitting $112.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,436,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,044,029. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $113.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.56. The Walt Disney Company has a fifty-two week low of $78.73 and a fifty-two week high of $123.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.42.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $23.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. Walt Disney’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total transaction 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 approximately $536,448. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.