Nordea Investment Management AB Acquires 299,604 Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 21.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,693,316 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 299,604 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.09% of Walt Disney worth $188,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the second quarter valued at $32,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 98.1% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walt Disney in the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Walt Disney during the third quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney during the third quarter worth approximately $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.58.

Insider Activity

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DIS opened at $110.90 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.21. The Walt Disney Company has a fifty-two week low of $83.91 and a fifty-two week high of $123.74. The company has a market capitalization of $200.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.90%.

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.