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

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $130.00 target price on the entertainment giant’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on DIS. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Walt Disney in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Prescient Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.65.

Walt Disney Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $110.41 on Wednesday. Walt Disney has a 12-month low of $83.91 and a 12-month high of $123.74. The company has a market cap of $199.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.99. 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 (NYSE:DIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. Equities research analysts expect that Walt Disney will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In other Walt Disney news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of Walt Disney 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,005,529.10. The trade was a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walt Disney

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of DIS. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Walt Disney by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 19,197,463 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $2,137,637,000 after purchasing an additional 3,636,742 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Walt Disney by 12,574.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,426,393 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $329,585,000 after purchasing an additional 3,399,359 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 8.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,310,539,000 after buying an additional 2,765,389 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Walt Disney by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,104,295 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,904,563,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300,912 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 114.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,307,794 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $414,582,000 after acquiring an additional 2,298,921 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.