How to Buy Disney Stock Direct

The Walt Disney Company has been a perennial favorite among investors on Wall Street and Main Street. While no one can guarantee a precise long-term Disney stock forecast, trading volume averages many millions of shares daily. Although most of the shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange, investors can take another route to Disney stock ownership through its direct stock purchase plan (DSPP).

​Read More​: The History of Disney Stock

Disney (ticker symbol DIS) is one of many blue-chip companies that offer shares directly to the public. A DSPP, sometimes called a dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP), allows you to open an account with a corporation to buy and sell its shares without a broker. The price you pay is usually a moving average of prices over the previous several days or weeks, but can also be the stock's current price when the order is entered.

​Read More​: What Companies Offer Drip Investments?

The benefits of a DSPP are its commission-free or low-fee transactions, possible access to discounts and the ability to reinvest dividends automatically, even if it results in fractional shares. You may have to pay an annual fee and transactions may take several days or weeks to complete. You can also establish a DSPP account with a service provider that offers enrollment links to many different corporate DSPP programs.

Computershare Trust Company, which runs one of the best stock market websites for direct stock purchases, administers Disney's DSPP. All the disclosures and related information regarding the plan are available at the Computershare website. The process of buying stocks directly is not just one of the Disney shareholder perks available to current owners of the stock. New Disney investors can just as easily buy shares at the DSPP website.

The steps for new shareholders to buy DIS shares directly are:

1. Visit the Computershare web page for the Disney DSPP.
2. Complete and sign the DSPP enrollment form and the accompanying W-9 tax form.
3. Select your investment options. The minimum initial investment is $200, in the form of a check or authorization for at least four monthly $50 electronic payments from your bank account. If you choose the electronic payments option, allow four to six weeks for the first payment to be initiated.
4. Print and mail the form along with a check (if not enrolled in the automatic payment plan) to the address given. The check should cover the investment amount plus fees, as specified on the DSPP page.
5. You will receive confirmation of your purchase, available online and/or through the mail.

The Disney DSPP has the following important features:

• You can make additional investments of $50 or more by check or through automatic deductions from your bank account. Fees apply.
• All Disney stock dividends are automatically invested in additional Disney stock unless you choose to receive the dividends directly.
• The plan's custodian maintains shares in book-entry form, but you can transfer the shares to your own brokerage account. The company doesn't issue physical stock certificates, although you may be able to purchase a Disney stock certificate replica from third parties.
• You can use the DSPP to sell shares kept with the plan's custodian. The process takes about five days, and you can specify the terms of sale, such as a market or limit order. Fees may apply.
• The Disney DSPP does not offer discounts. You do not have to live in the United States to participate in the plan.

Whenever you buy securities, it's a good idea to learn about the company and its securities before spending your money. Your best primary sources of information about Disney stock are its prospectus and quarterly reports. You can view this information via the SEC's EDGAR website and through direct links from the Disney Investor Relations page. You can also seek opinions and recommendations from third-party analysts and brokers, such as Fidelity, Schwab and Merrill.