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

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-five analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nineteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $125.54.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DIS shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total value of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,870.70. This represents a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total value of $42,667,242.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walt Disney

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farallon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the second quarter valued at approximately $355,673,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 12,574.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $329,585,000 after purchasing an additional 3,399,359 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Walt Disney by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,310,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765,389 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 114.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $414,582,000 after buying an additional 2,298,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 112.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $398,508,000 after buying an additional 2,188,610 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

Walt Disney stock opened at $108.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Walt Disney has a 12 month low of $83.91 and a 12 month high of $123.74. The company 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $111.11 and its 200-day moving average is $99.45.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The firm had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. Walt Disney’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Walt Disney will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a yield of 0.6%. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.90%.

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.