Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $9.99 Million in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 110,600 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock, valued at approximately $9,986,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of DIS. Compton Capital Management Inc. RI increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Compton Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 20,689 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,838,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Linscomb & Williams Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Linscomb & Williams Inc. now owns 5,582 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $766,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 16,514 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,338,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 24,096 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,176,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DIS traded down $3.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $114.01. 12,155,166 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,721,007. The Walt Disney Company has a 12 month low of $78.73 and a 12 month high of $123.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.13 billion, a PE ratio of 70.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.25. Walt Disney had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The firm had revenue of $23.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on DIS shares. Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.54.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $536,448. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.