Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) Stock Rating Upgraded by Redburn Atlantic

Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $147.00 price target on the entertainment giant’s stock, up from their previous price target of $100.00.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.54.

Walt Disney Stock Down 1.6 %

DIS stock opened at $109.63 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Walt Disney has a 12 month low of $83.91 and a 12 month high of $123.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.53 billion, a PE ratio of 40.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.40.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. Walt Disney’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Walt Disney will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is presently 36.90%.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In other Walt Disney news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total value of $42,667,242.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total value of $917,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. The trade was a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walt Disney

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Walt Disney during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Birch Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Walt Disney in the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in Walt Disney by 98.1% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 517 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walt Disney during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. 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.