Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) Stock Price Up 0.8%

Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) traded up 0.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $114.50 and last traded at $113.88. 9,291,419 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 11% from the average session volume of 10,451,374 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Walt Disney in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Argus lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $129.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.54.

Walt Disney Stock Down 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $113.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.35. The stock has a market cap of $205.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.40, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.42.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.25. Walt Disney had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The firm had revenue of $23.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. Walt Disney’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total transaction of $226,405.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $536,448. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walt Disney

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Trian Fund Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 411.6% in the 3rd quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. now owns 32,868,307 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,663,976,000 after buying an additional 26,443,257 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 109,924.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,666,275 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,056,126,000 after buying an additional 23,644,765 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at $1,938,647,000. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 46,172,567 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $4,011,473,000 after buying an additional 5,499,014 shares during the period. Finally, ValueAct Holdings L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at $459,245,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

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.