Citigroup Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by investment analysts at Citigroup in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $125.00 price target on the entertainment giant’s stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 14.97% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Walt Disney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.52.

Walt Disney Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of DIS stock opened at $108.72 on Wednesday. Walt Disney has a twelve month low of $83.91 and a twelve month high of $123.74. The stock has a market cap of $196.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $112.20 and a 200 day moving average of $99.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. Walt Disney had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 9.21%. The company had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walt Disney will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,054,870.70. The trade was a 15.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total transaction of $42,667,242.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,980,695.19. This trade represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Farmers Trust Co. lifted its stake in Walt Disney by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 8,483 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walt Disney by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 3,412 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 18,869 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,809,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 11,657 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connable Office Inc. raised its stake in Walt Disney by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 35,048 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,371,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.