Ballast Inc. Acquires 1,084 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Ballast Inc. grew its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,519 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 0.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 149,887,754 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $12,148,402,000 after buying an additional 994,575 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 3.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,142,473 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $6,530,160,000 after buying an additional 2,482,492 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Walt Disney by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 46,172,567 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $4,011,473,000 after buying an additional 5,499,014 shares during the period. Trian Fund Management L.P. increased its position in Walt Disney by 411.6% in the 3rd quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. now owns 32,868,307 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,663,976,000 after acquiring an additional 26,443,257 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 10.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 24,859,476 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,014,861,000 after purchasing an additional 2,384,407 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 898 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.11, for a total value of $80,918.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,694.71. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

NYSE:DIS opened at $122.36 on Friday. The Walt Disney Company has a 52-week low of $78.73 and a 52-week high of $123.74. The business’s fifty day moving average is $107.28 and its 200 day moving average is $94.53. 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 market cap of $224.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.53, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.41.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released 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 business had revenue of $23.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.71 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. Research analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. This represents a yield of 0.5%. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DIS shares. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $136.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays raised shares of Walt Disney from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.77.

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.