Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) Trading Up 1.9% After Analyst Upgrade

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) shares were up 1.9% on Monday after Loop Capital raised their price target on the stock from $113.00 to $140.00. Loop Capital currently has a buy rating on the stock. Walt Disney traded as high as $115.98 and last traded at $115.81. Approximately 4,914,088 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 11,436,513 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.66.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Macquarie lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating and set a $133.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walt Disney

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Avitas Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,037 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $997,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. WNY Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 9,321 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 2,304 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 4.9% in 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 period. Telos Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 1.7% in 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 period. Finally, Tempus Wealth Planning LLC grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 4.5% in 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 period. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walt Disney Price Performance

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 moving average of $114.50 and a 200-day moving average of $100.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.40.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $23.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.71 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 3.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is 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.