How to Buy Disney Stock Now, Price Forecast and Dividend Guide 

Should I buy Disney stock? In this guide, you will learn how to buy and sell Disney shares and get price forecasts, analyst outlooks and dividend information to help make your decision!

The Walt Disney Company is an international entertainment company diversified into several areas of the entertainment industry. Disney produces movies & shows, operates broadcasting networks & digital streaming services, theme parks and franchising & licensing rights to produce merchandise. Disney was founded in 1923 by brothers Walt and Roy Disney and was formerly known as Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. As the company matured and diversified, it went through several name changes.

Disney stock has seen impressive growth over the years. The company started as a small animation studio and evolved into one of the largest media conglomerates in less than a century, which is impressive. Walt Disney’s first feature-length movie still holds the world record for the highest-grossing movie of all time, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; 1937. It grossed $184,925,486, equivalent to $1.3 billion, when adjusted for inflation.

Disney stock are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol DIS, and an average of 6.1 million shares are traded daily. This guide to trading Disney stock will help you understand the conglomerate’s various business activities, how it makes money, the potential risks and opportunities, upcoming plans & investments, analyst predictions, dividend schedule, stock split history and earning potential.

Disney Stock Overview

Based on the latest information from regulatory filings, here is a summary of key facts and information related to Disney stock:

• The Walt Disney Company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on the 12th of November 1957 with the ticker symbol DIS.
• As of October 2020, Disney had 203,000 employees worldwide and expects to terminate 32,000 employees in 2021.
• In 2020, Disney’s revenue was $65.14 billion, down 6.2% from the previous year. The company’s net income for 2020 was -$2.86 billion, the first time the company was unprofitable for over a decade.
• DIS is a constituent of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500.

Disney Initial Public Offering 

Disney was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on the 12th of November 1957. It wasn’t a conventional IPO because Disney shares were already being traded in the over-the-counter market since 1940. Disney shares were sold for $13.88 each, which is approximately $133.43 when adjusted for inflation.

Disney Stock Price History

Early Disney investors have been handsomely rewarded for their belief in the company. Suppose you bought one Disney share for the equivalent of $133.43 in 1957; after six stock splits, you’d have 384 shares worth approximately $70,000. That’s a 52,362% return on investment, or 10.27% annualised ROI. The return on investment does not consider profits from dividends or additional shares from stock bonuses.

If you, or rather your grandparents, invested $1,000 into Disney shares in 1957, they’d have bought 72 shares, which would become 14,740 shares when adjusted for splits and bonuses. Based on the Disney share price from the 1st of September 2021, they would be worth $2.7 million.

Disney Stockholders

The top ten investment firms and funds with positions in Disney paint a picture of the interest large investment firms have in the company.

Disney Stock Dividend Information 

In recent years, Disney has been paying shareholder dividends semi-annually. The most recent Disney stock dividend paid out was $0.88 per share, declared on the 4th of December 2019 and payable 16th of January 2020. While navigating the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on Disney, the company’s board of directors announced that it would forgo the second semi-annual dividend of the fiscal year 2020.

Understandably, a company should not pay dividends during a period when it’s losing money and needs to invest in new digital innovations. There are no indications as to when Disney will resume paying dividends to shareholders.

Disney Stock Dividend History 

The table below shows the past ten years of Disney shares dividend payments to shareholders.

Disney Stock Splits 

Disney has performed six stock splits since it became a publicly listed company. The first stock split occurred on the 17th of August 1956, one year before the company debuted on the NYSE and was split 2-for-1.

The first Disney stock split after the company was publicly listed occurred on the 26th of October 1967. The most recent split occurred on the 19th of June 1998. If you owned one Disney share before the 26th of October 1967 split, you’d have 384 shares today, worth approximately $70,000.

Considering Disney shares haven’t split for longer than a decade, it leaves investors wondering whether DIS shares will split again.

Besides splitting the stock, which improves liquidity as shares become cheaper and more volume is traded, Disney has performed stock bonus issues that reward investors by giving them additional shares instead of increasing the dividends.

DIS stock split history 

1. 26th of October 1967: DIS stock split 2-for-1, meaning every shareholder received twice as many shares they had before the split.
2. 4th of February 1971: DIS stock split 2-for-1.
3. 6th of December 1972: DIS stock split 2-for-1.
4. 10th of February 1986: DIS stock split 4-for-1, meaning every shareholder got four times as many shares following the split
5. 20th of April 1992: DIS stock split 4-for-1.
6. 19th of June 1998: DIS stock split 3-for-1.

DIS Stock Bonus Issue History

• 18th of December 1962: Disney performed a 103-for-100 bonus issue, giving shareholders an additional three shares for every 100 they own.
• 15th of December 1975: Disney performed a 103-for-100 bonus issue.
• 16th of December 1976: Disney performed a 103-for-100 bonus issue.
• 6th of December 1977: Disney performed a 203-for-200 bonus issue, giving shareholders an additional three shares for every 200 they own.
• 13th of June 2007: Disney performed a 1014-for-1000 bonus issue.

Disney Stock Forecast and Prediction 

After suffering losses in 2020, Disney surpassed expectations and surprised analysts with its 2021 3rd quarter results. Most analysts have taken either a buy or wait and see approach to Disney stock.

• Argus analyst Joseph Bonner maintained a buy rating on Disney stock and reiterated his $225 price target.
• BMO Capital analyst Daniel Salmon maintained a market-perform rating on the stock, meaning he has a neutral outlook on Disney and expects it to perform in line with market averages. However, he raised his DIS price target to $195 (from $190).
• Credit Suisse analyst Douglas Mitchelson reiterated an outperform rating and a $218.00 price target Disney stock.
• UBS analyst John Hodulik maintained a buy rating and raised the Disney price target to $220.00 (from $215.00).

Should I Buy Disney Stock? Points to consider

Before investing in Disney shares, you should be aware that the company is highly diversified and complex. The company is a huge player in the online and offline entertainment industry, which means some business units, like theme parks, are negatively impacted by lockdowns and travel restrictions. In contrast, online services prosper under those same circumstances. Another factor to consider is Disney regularly makes multi-billion-dollar acquisitions, which significantly impacts the company’s cash flow.

Disney Business Model

The Walt Disney Company is a media conglomerate that owns several mass media companies that produce and distribute content in various formats, such as motion pictures, television, digital and theme parks.

Disney is well known for characters like Mickey Mouse and Daffy Duck. However, Disney also owns Marvel, the creator of numerous iconic comic book characters such as Spider-Man, Hulk, Wolverine and Venom and Lucasfilm, creator of movie franchises Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

Besides movie franchises, Disney has a diverse range of cable and television networks, such as ABC, ESPN, FX, National Geographic, and has investments and affiliation deals with many other TV networks worldwide.

Disney’s businesses are categorised as Media Networks, Parks, Experiences and Products, Studio Entertainment and Direct-to-Consumer & International (DTCI).

Where Can I Trade Disney Stock? 

One of the most convenient ways to trade shares in the Disney company is to open an online trading account with ZFX, an international broker.

ZFX – Practice Trading Disney Shares with an International Broker 

Unlike conventional stockbrokers, ZFX lets customers practice trading stocks on a demo account, also known as paper trading. If you’re new to trading stocks or just want to practice a particular strategy on Disney shares, then open a ZFX demo account today.

Besides trading Disney shares, you can practice trading many other stocks and indices, commodities and currency pairs.

How to Buy Disney Stock Now 

Disney shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange and listed with the ticker symbol DIS. The stock price is quoted in US dollars, and you can place orders as little as one share.

Only professional brokers and large investment firms can trade directly on an exchange like the NYSE. Therefore, you need to work with a broker like ZFX, which lets you trade DIS shares. To start trading DIS today, just follow this simple step-by-step guide:

The first step to trading Disney shares is opening a brokerage account with ZFX. Choose between either a live or demo trading account. Demo accounts are great for practising your trading capabilities and getting familiar with the platform features and settings.

To open a live account, you’ll need your proof of identity and a proof of residence to perform online identity verification.

Fund your trading account via bank transfer, e-wallet or your Visa or Mastercard.

Once you’re inside the MetaTrader 4 platform, you’ll see a list of trading instruments on the left-hand side of the interface. Scroll down the list until you find Disney and click to open the chart.

Right-click on the chart and select ‘new order’ from the context menu to open a new order. In the new order window, you can enter your order configuration, such as the number of shares you want to trade, plus any special order properties if you want to use a limit or stop order. When you’re all done, simply click ‘Confirm’.

Investing in Disney Stock – Final Thoughts 

Disney is an interesting company because of how much influence it has in the world. The company produces some of the most noteworthy television shows and movies and owns rights to characters that children worldwide adore.

Disney suffered dramatically from its theme park business due to lockdowns and travel restrictions. However, the company’s streaming businesses have grown dramatically and helped cover those losses. The company relies on constantly producing new content to sell to other networks or stream to consumers. COVID-19 cases can halt production and cancel sports events, leading to lost opportunities. However, Disney does have a strong animation portfolio that is more resilient from production disruptions, but it’s not the only form of content consumers want.