Analysts Set The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Price Target at $123.58

Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $125.54.

A number of brokerages recently commented on DIS. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DIS opened at $109.63 on Friday. Walt Disney has a 1-year low of $83.91 and a 1-year high of $123.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $198.53 billion, a PE ratio of 40.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.85 and its two-hundred 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 business had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Walt Disney will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walt Disney

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 6.6% during the second quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 20,932 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,078,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 278,098 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $27,612,000 after buying an additional 1,214 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 5.1% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 265,365 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $26,348,000 after buying an additional 12,801 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 3.0% during the second quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 115,460 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $11,464,000 after acquiring an additional 3,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 8.4% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 51,114 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $5,075,000 after acquiring an additional 3,969 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.