Everence Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 48,339 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,440 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $5,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DIS. State Street Corp lifted its position in Walt Disney by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $7,463,978,000 after acquiring an additional 490,681 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 3.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,609,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,082 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 8.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765,389 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Walt Disney by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,281,047 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,417,958,000 after purchasing an additional 425,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Walt Disney by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,850,678 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,332,297,000 after buying an additional 454,678 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DIS traded up $0.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $111.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,423,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,460,846. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $109.37 and its 200 day moving average is $99.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.29 billion, a PE ratio of 41.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a twelve month low of $83.91 and a twelve month high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The firm had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is presently 36.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total transaction of $42,667,242.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.