Walt Disney’s (DIS) Neutral Rating Reiterated at Macquarie

Macquarie reissued their neutral rating on shares of Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $110.00 price objective on the entertainment giant’s stock.

DIS has been the topic of several other research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Walt Disney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.54.

Walt Disney Stock Down 1.6 %

DIS stock opened at $109.63 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $110.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.33. The company has a market capitalization of $198.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Walt Disney has a 52 week low of $83.91 and a 52 week high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.49 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. Walt Disney’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. This represents a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.90%.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the company’s 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 owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $7,463,978,000 after buying an additional 490,681 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 3.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,609,833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,082 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased 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 valued at $3,310,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765,389 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Walt Disney by 3.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,281,047 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,417,958,000 after acquiring an additional 425,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 3.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,850,678 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,332,297,000 after purchasing an additional 454,678 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by 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.