Sterling Capital Management LLC Purchases 40,404 Shares of The Walt Disney Company $DIS

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 122.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 73,370 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after buying an additional 40,404 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $9,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DIS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 155,862,361 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $15,383,615,000 after purchasing an additional 2,446,087 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the second quarter worth $4,220,599,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 9.4% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 20,676,921 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,564,145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,774,772 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 9.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 18,509,924 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,826,930,000 after buying an additional 1,642,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 14,882,195 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,468,873,000 after buying an additional 1,520,513 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Walt Disney from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.90.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

Shares of DIS opened at $110.38 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The Walt Disney Company has a 52 week low of $80.10 and a 52 week high of $124.69. The stock has a market cap of $198.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.55.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.16. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 12.22%.The company had revenue of $23.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

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.