Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) Trading 0.3% Higher – Time to Buy?

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s share price shot up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $97.14 and last traded at $97.00. 1,034,479 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 10,891,578 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DIS has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Walt Disney from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on Walt Disney from $139.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.05.

Walt Disney Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $92.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.40.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The entertainment giant reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $23.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.08 billion. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 8.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Walt Disney Company will post 4.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Calvin Mcdonald acquired 11,756 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $85.06 per share, with a total value of $999,965.36. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 22,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,897,943.78. This represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walt Disney

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Walt Disney by 1.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 153,769,084 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $18,815,185,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325,582 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,883,983 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,477,831,000 after purchasing an additional 1,449,730 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,281,047 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,417,958,000 after purchasing an additional 425,438 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney during the 1st quarter worth about $1,490,492,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Walt Disney by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,040,297 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,473,252,000 after buying an additional 293,482 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is currently 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.