Stock 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 activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 101,728 call options on the company. This is an increase of 46% compared to the typical daily volume of 69,916 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.84, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,190,748.04. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walt Disney

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walt Disney during the fourth quarter worth $2,415,427,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the first quarter worth $1,353,607,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in Walt Disney by 1,900.0% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,735,961 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $638,699,000 after purchasing an additional 5,449,158 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Walt Disney by 75.8% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,858,108 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $1,209,050,000 after purchasing an additional 4,680,930 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Walt Disney during the fourth quarter worth about $358,151,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $118.76 on Wednesday. Walt Disney has a 52-week low of $80.10 and a 52-week high of $120.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $213.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $99.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.72.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The entertainment giant reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.24. Walt Disney had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $23.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Walt Disney will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital upped their price target on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Walt Disney from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded Walt Disney from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $112.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Walt Disney from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.96.

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.