Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) Upgraded at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $135.00 price target on the entertainment giant’s stock, up from their previous price target of $95.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $114.00 to $112.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Walt Disney from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $120.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $136.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $117.77.

Walt Disney Price Performance

DIS stock opened at $122.36 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.44 billion, a PE ratio of 75.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $107.28 and its 200-day moving average is $94.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Walt Disney has a 1 year low of $78.73 and a 1 year high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $23.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.71 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The business’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Walt Disney will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.5%. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is currently 18.52%.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In other news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 898 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.11, for a total transaction of $80,918.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,694.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walt Disney

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of DIS. Trian Fund Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 411.6% in the 3rd quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. now owns 32,868,307 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,663,976,000 after buying an additional 26,443,257 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 109,924.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,666,275 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,056,126,000 after buying an additional 23,644,765 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walt Disney in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,938,647,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 46,172,567 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $4,011,473,000 after buying an additional 5,499,014 shares during the period. Finally, ValueAct Holdings L.P. bought a new position in Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at $459,245,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Company 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.