The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $125.54.

Several brokerages have commented on DIS. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Walt Disney Trading Down 1.0 %

Walt Disney stock opened at $108.68 on Friday. Walt Disney has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $111.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.45. The firm has a market cap of $196.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. Walt Disney’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Walt Disney will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is 36.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In other news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total value 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 approximately $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walt Disney

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $7,463,978,000 after buying an additional 490,681 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Walt Disney by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,609,833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,082 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,765,389 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,281,047 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,417,958,000 after purchasing an additional 425,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Walt Disney by 3.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,850,678 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,332,297,000 after purchasing an additional 454,678 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Walt Disney

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.