Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) Shares Down 0.2%

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s stock price traded down 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $113.14 and last traded at $113.51. 1,828,721 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 11,844,281 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DIS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Walt Disney in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.08.

Walt Disney Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $208.96 billion, a PE ratio of 70.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $114.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The entertainment giant reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.25. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 3.36%. The business had revenue of $23.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Walt Disney Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. This represents a yield of 0.5%. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is 18.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,400 shares in the company, valued at $536,448. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 151,443,502 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $13,673,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555,748 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 0.4% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,318,444 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,592,010,000 after acquiring an additional 195,512 shares during the period. Trian Fund Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 411.6% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 26,443,257 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Walt Disney by 10.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 24,859,476 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,014,861,000 after acquiring an additional 2,384,407 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 4th quarter valued at $1,938,647,000. 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.