Traynor Capital Management Inc. Invests $215,000 in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Traynor Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,933 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Walt Disney during the second quarter valued at about $378,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 160.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 829,220 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $82,333,000 after purchasing an additional 510,844 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its holdings in Walt Disney by 65.6% in the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 582,325 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $53,948,000 after buying an additional 230,594 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Walt Disney by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,953,903 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $988,290,000 after buying an additional 102,210 shares during the period. Finally, Dundas Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 1.0% during the second quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 252,703 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $25,091,000 after buying an additional 2,567 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. The trade was a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walt Disney Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $111.02 on Friday. The Walt Disney Company has a 12-month low of $83.91 and a 12-month high of $123.74. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $201.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.43.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. Walt Disney’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is presently 36.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DIS. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.52.

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.