Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) Shares Up 1.1% After Analyst Upgrade

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s share price rose 1.1% during trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $128.00 to $141.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walt Disney traded as high as $113.49 and last traded at $113.23. Approximately 1,423,950 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 11,904,283 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.99.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Walt Disney from $129.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Walt Disney in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $136.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Macquarie lifted their target price on Walt Disney from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.08.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In other news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total value of $226,405.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $536,448. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avitas Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Walt Disney by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,037 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $997,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Walt Disney by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 9,321 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $756,000 after buying an additional 2,304 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walt Disney by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,024 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Walt Disney by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 74,767 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $6,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tempus Wealth Planning LLC grew its stake in Walt Disney by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 12,722 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walt Disney Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.05. The firm has a market cap of $208.25 billion, a PE ratio of 69.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.42.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $23.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.71 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 3.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. Analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.66 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. This represents a yield of 0.5%. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is presently 18.52%.

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.