Walt Disney’s (DIS) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Citigroup

Citigroup reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $125.00 price target on the entertainment giant’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on DIS. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Walt Disney in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walt Disney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.52.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of Walt Disney stock opened at $108.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $112.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.83. Walt Disney has a one year low of $83.91 and a one year high of $123.74. The stock has a market cap of $197.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The business had revenue of $22.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Walt Disney will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Walt Disney by 1.5% in the second quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,734 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Walt Disney in the 2nd quarter valued at $378,000. Unisphere Establishment increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 3.8% in the second quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 3,013,500 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $299,210,000 after acquiring an additional 111,500 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 251.2% during the second quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 83,888 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $8,329,000 after purchasing an additional 60,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlTi Global Inc. lifted its position in Walt Disney by 5.4% during the second quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 58,608 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $5,819,000 after purchasing an additional 3,012 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

About Walt Disney

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.