Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) Trading 0.8% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) traded up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $120.00 to $145.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Walt Disney traded as high as $122.03 and last traded at $120.93. 3,196,455 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 12,399,478 shares. The stock had previously closed at $119.93.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on DIS. Raymond James raised their target price on Walt Disney from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on Walt Disney from $114.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $136.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 898 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.11, for a total transaction of $80,918.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,694.71. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DIS. Markel Corp increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 2.3% during the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 1,922,665 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $263,713,000 after acquiring an additional 42,500 shares during the period. Fairfield Bush & CO. increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 3.4% during the first quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 9,624 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. United Bank grew its position in Walt Disney by 8.7% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 9,949 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,365,000 after buying an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Walt Disney by 4.6% in the first quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,918 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,418,000 after buying an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Walt Disney by 0.6% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 828,308 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $113,611,000 after buying an additional 4,722 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $224.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.53.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $23.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.71 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The firm’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 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

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