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

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s stock price traded up 1.9% during mid-day trading 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. 4,914,088 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 11,436,513 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.66.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on DIS. Daiwa Capital Markets restated a “buy” rating and set a $133.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $136.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays upgraded shares of Walt Disney from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $95.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.17.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In other news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction on 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 owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $536,448. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avitas Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 238 shares during the period. WNY Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,304 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Telos Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Finally, Tempus Wealth Planning LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 546 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Up 2.5 %

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 firm has a market cap of $213.64 billion, a PE ratio of 71.93, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $114.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.81.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its earnings results 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. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 3.36%. The business had revenue of $23.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.7 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.52%.

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.