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

Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 51.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,680 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,366 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $3,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Walt Disney by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 153,769,084 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $18,815,185,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325,582 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walt Disney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,938,647,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Walt Disney during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,490,492,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Walt Disney by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,040,297 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,473,252,000 after acquiring an additional 293,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Walt Disney by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,943,052 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $897,758,000 after acquiring an additional 211,397 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.00, for a total value of $466,400.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Walt Disney news, Director James P. Gorman acquired 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $106.03 per share, with a total value of $2,120,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,170,116.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.00, for a total value of $466,400.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walt Disney Price Performance

DIS traded up $1.14 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $93.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,941,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,301,683. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $99.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The Walt Disney Company has a 12 month low of $78.73 and a 12 month high of $123.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.40.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The entertainment giant reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $22.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.12 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 8.37% and a net margin of 1.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DIS shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walt Disney from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Moffett Nathanson lowered their price objective on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Argus increased their price target on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.13.

About Walt Disney

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.