Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders bought 156,224 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 51% compared to the typical volume of 103,437 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on DIS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $113.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $128.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walt Disney from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.50.

Walt Disney Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $99.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $180.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.82, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.57. Walt Disney has a 12-month low of $78.73 and a 12-month high of $123.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The entertainment giant reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 8.37% and a net margin of 1.90%. The company had revenue of $22.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. Walt Disney’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walt Disney will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walt Disney

In other Walt Disney news, Director James P. Gorman acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $106.03 per share, for a total transaction of $2,120,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 20,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,170,116.01. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director James P. Gorman bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $106.03 per share, for a total transaction of $2,120,600.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,170,116.01. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sonia L. Coleman sold 1,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.92, for a total transaction of $226,405.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $536,448. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walt Disney

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 153,769,084 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $18,815,185,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325,582 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 0.4% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,318,444 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,592,010,000 after buying an additional 195,512 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the fourth quarter worth about $1,938,647,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Walt Disney in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,490,492,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Walt Disney by 2.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 293,482 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.