Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 568,911 The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 568,911 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock, valued at approximately $54,724,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Farallon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the 2nd quarter valued at $355,673,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 12,574.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $329,585,000 after buying an additional 3,399,359 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after buying an additional 2,765,389 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 114.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $414,582,000 after acquiring an additional 2,298,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Walt Disney by 112.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $398,508,000 after acquiring an additional 2,188,610 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walt Disney Price Performance

NYSE:DIS opened at $116.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $102.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.59. The Walt Disney Company has a 1-year low of $83.91 and a 1-year high of $123.74. The firm has a market cap of $210.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.42.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DIS has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target 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. Barclays dropped their target price on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.