Avalon Trust Co Increases Stock Holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Avalon Trust Co raised its stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS - Free Report) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 111,698 shares of the entertainment giant's stock after acquiring an additional 18,827 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co's holdings in Walt Disney were worth $10,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 32,792 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $2,658,000 after purchasing an additional 4,796 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 2.2% in the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 476,600 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $38,628,000 after buying an additional 10,300 shares during the period. Diversified Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 2.5% in the third quarter. Diversified Investment Strategies LLC now owns 31,876 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $2,584,000 after buying an additional 772 shares during the period. Intellectus Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 18,185 shares of the entertainment giant's stock worth $1,474,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Investment Group boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 2,719 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total value of $226,405.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $536,448. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Macquarie lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $125.08.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

DIS stock traded up $1.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $113.66. The company had a trading volume of 7,411,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,776,801. The company has a market cap of $208.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.40. The Walt Disney Company has a twelve month low of $78.73 and a twelve month high of $123.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.60.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $23.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.71 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 3.36%. The firm's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.5%. Walt Disney's payout ratio is currently 55.56%.

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.