Principal Securities Inc. Increases Stock Position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,774 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $5,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DIS. Transcendent Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Walt Disney by 1.4% during the first quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. ADE LLC raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 4.6% during the second quarter. ADE LLC now owns 2,509 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 2.3% during the second quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 4,966 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $493,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 5.7% during the second quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 1.4% during the third quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 8,391 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $807,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of DIS opened at $95.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The Walt Disney Company has a 1 year low of $81.82 and a 1 year high of $123.74. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.57. The firm has a market cap of $173.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.40.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The entertainment giant reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $23.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.08 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 8.64%. Walt Disney’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Macquarie cut their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Walt Disney from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on Walt Disney from $139.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walt Disney news, Director Calvin Mcdonald bought 11,756 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $85.06 per share, for a total transaction of $999,965.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,313 shares in the company, valued at $1,897,943.78. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.