Needham & Company LLC Raises Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) Price Target to $145.00

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC from $120.00 to $145.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the entertainment giant’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price indicates a potential upside of 18.43% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $136.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.77.

Walt Disney Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of DIS stock traded up $1.46 on Thursday, hitting $122.44. The stock had a trading volume of 7,704,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,448,402. The business has a 50 day moving average of $106.66 and a 200 day moving average of $94.34. The stock has a market cap of $224.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Walt Disney has a 12-month low of $78.73 and a 12-month high of $123.74.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $23.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Walt Disney will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In other news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 898 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.11, for a total value of $80,918.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,861 shares in the company, valued at $167,694.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walt Disney

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DIS. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Walt Disney during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Walt Disney in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walt Disney in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walt Disney in the third quarter valued at $30,000. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.