The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Receives $125.08 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and twenty-three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $127.17.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on DIS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $133.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Walt Disney from $129.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd.

Walt Disney Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DIS opened at $116.47 on Tuesday. Walt Disney has a twelve month low of $78.73 and a twelve month high of $123.74. The firm has a market cap of $213.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $114.67 and a 200-day moving average of $101.05. 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 (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.25. Walt Disney had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The firm had revenue of $23.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walt Disney will post 4.7 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. This represents a yield of 0.5%. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is 18.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $536,448. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Trian Fund Management L.P. increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 411.6% during the third 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 last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walt Disney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,938,647,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in Walt Disney during the first quarter worth about $1,490,492,000. ValueAct Holdings L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the fourth quarter worth about $459,245,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walt Disney during the 3rd quarter valued at $326,171,000. Hedge funds and other 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.