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

Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $125.54.

A number of research firms have recently commented on DIS. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. The trade was a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walt Disney

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. One Wealth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walt Disney in the fourth quarter worth about $227,000. Birch Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new position in Walt Disney during the 4th quarter valued at about $302,000. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walt Disney by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,920 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in Walt Disney by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 19,048 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walt Disney Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:DIS opened at $111.39 on Friday. Walt Disney has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $110.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $201.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.43.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 9.21% and a net margin of 5.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Walt Disney will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

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.