Walt Disney’s (DIS) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $145.00 price objective on the entertainment giant’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Walt Disney from $129.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group cut their price target on Walt Disney from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays cut their price target on Walt Disney from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Moffett Nathanson cut their price target on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $126.44.

Walt Disney Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of DIS opened at $98.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.16, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.75. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $104.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.81. Walt Disney has a 52 week low of $78.73 and a 52 week high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The entertainment giant reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $22.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.12 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 8.37% and a net margin of 1.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Walt Disney will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James P. Gorman bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $106.03 per share, for a total transaction of $2,120,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 20,467 shares in the company, valued at $2,170,116.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director James P. Gorman acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $106.03 per share, for a total transaction of $2,120,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,170,116.01. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.00, for a total value of $466,400.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walt Disney

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 153,769,084 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $18,815,185,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325,582 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Walt Disney by 0.4% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,318,444 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,592,010,000 after purchasing an additional 195,512 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walt Disney during the fourth quarter worth about $1,938,647,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in Walt Disney during the first quarter worth about $1,490,492,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Walt Disney by 2.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,040,297 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,473,252,000 after purchasing an additional 293,482 shares during the period. 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.