Walt Disney’s (DIS) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Citigroup

Citigroup reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Citigroup currently has a $125.00 price objective on the entertainment giant’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.52.

Walt Disney Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $108.86 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $197.14 billion, a PE ratio of 40.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $112.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.83. Walt Disney has a 1 year low of $83.91 and a 1 year high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Walt Disney will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $568,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walt Disney

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 12,574.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $329,585,000 after acquiring an additional 3,399,359 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Walt Disney by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765,389 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 114.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $414,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298,921 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Walt Disney by 112.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,142,991 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $398,508,000 after purchasing an additional 2,188,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,609,833,000 after buying an additional 1,393,082 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.