Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 187,122 call options on the company. This is an increase of 100% compared to the average daily volume of 93,440 call options.

Insider Transactions at Walt Disney

In related news, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $568,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,005,529.10. This represents a 10.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 385,412 shares of company stock valued at $44,153,263. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walt Disney

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DIS. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in Walt Disney by 2.2% during the second quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 34,343 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,410,000 after buying an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Walt Disney by 3.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 12,431 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in Walt Disney by 13.8% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 115,680 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $11,257,000 after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in Walt Disney by 18.5% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 4,601 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everpar Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 5,255 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 978 shares during the period. 65.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walt Disney Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:DIS opened at $113.32 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Walt Disney has a twelve month low of $83.91 and a twelve month high of $123.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $104.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.04.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The entertainment giant reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. Walt Disney’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Walt Disney will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s payout ratio is currently 36.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DIS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Walt Disney from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. 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 research report on Friday, November 15th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.67.

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.