Homestead Advisers Corp Grows Stock Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Homestead Advisers Corp grew its holdings in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS - Free Report) by 12.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 862,000 shares of the entertainment giant's stock after acquiring an additional 92,100 shares during the quarter. Walt Disney accounts for approximately 2.1% of Homestead Advisers Corp's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Homestead Advisers Corp's holdings in Walt Disney were worth $85,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DIS. United Bank boosted its position in Walt Disney by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 15,955 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $1,575,000 after buying an additional 1,699 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 6.5% during the first quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,372,739 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $147,588,000 after acquiring an additional 84,053 shares during the last quarter. Wesleyan Assurance Society grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 12.4% in the first quarter. Wesleyan Assurance Society now owns 217,862 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $21,499,000 after purchasing an additional 24,000 shares during the last quarter. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. now owns 6,979 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Nelson Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 32.9% during the 1st quarter. Nelson Capital Management LLC now owns 31,109 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $3,070,000 after purchasing an additional 7,694 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DIS. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Walt Disney from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Walt Disney from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $112.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $128.13.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.84, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,831 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,190,748.04. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walt Disney Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:DIS traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $122.03. The stock had a trading volume of 6,602,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,877,937. The Walt Disney Company has a one year low of $80.10 and a one year high of $124.69. The company has a market capitalization of $219.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.95, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $117.61 and a 200 day moving average of $107.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The entertainment giant reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $23.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.15 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.99% and a net margin of 9.47%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

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.