Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) in a report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $140.00 price target on the entertainment giant’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on DIS. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $129.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Daiwa Capital Markets reiterated a buy rating and issued a $133.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays upgraded Walt Disney from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $124.54.

Walt Disney Stock Down 2.7 %

DIS opened at $114.01 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $112.97 and a 200 day moving average of $97.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Walt Disney has a 12 month low of $78.73 and a 12 month high of $123.74. The company has a market cap of $209.13 billion, a PE ratio of 70.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $23.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.71 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 3.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walt Disney will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were 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 $536,448. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.