Short Interest in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Drops By 5.1%

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 18,800,000 shares, a decline of 5.1% from the November 15th total of 19,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,620,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DIS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $91.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walt Disney news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. The trade was a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares in the company, valued at $5,005,529.10. This trade represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walt Disney

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Walt Disney by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $7,463,978,000 after purchasing an additional 490,681 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $3,609,833,000 after buying an additional 1,393,082 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 2,765,389 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 10.8% in the second 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 buying an additional 1,449,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 3.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,281,047 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,417,958,000 after buying an additional 425,438 shares in the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walt Disney Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $113.04 on Wednesday. Walt Disney has a 52-week low of $83.91 and a 52-week high of $123.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $105.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.25. The stock has a market cap of $204.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.42.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $22.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. Walt Disney’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Walt Disney will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.90%.

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.