Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $130.00 price target on the entertainment giant’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 17.75% from the company’s current price.

DIS has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.65.

Walt Disney Stock Down 2.6 %

DIS stock opened at $110.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.74, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.42. Walt Disney has a fifty-two week low of $83.91 and a fifty-two week high of $123.74. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $112.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.89.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walt Disney will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,529.10. The trade was a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walt Disney

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $7,463,978,000 after acquiring an additional 490,681 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 3.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,609,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,082 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Walt Disney by 8.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,310,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765,389 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 3,636,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,104,295 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,904,563,000 after buying an additional 2,300,912 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.