Avanza Fonder AB Buys New Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 302,341 shares of the cable giant's stock, valued at approximately $11,347,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $4,904,647,000 after acquiring an additional 6,062,658 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Comcast by 1.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,871,235 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,331,192,000 after purchasing an additional 416,759 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Comcast by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 30,364,136 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $1,268,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717,762 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 15,983,230 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $667,620,000 after buying an additional 822,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 14,918,501 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $623,146,000 after buying an additional 676,920 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Trading Up 0.7 %

CMCSA traded up $0.27 on Friday, hitting $36.58. The company had a trading volume of 21,859,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,748,178. The company's fifty day moving average price is $39.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.16. Comcast Co. has a 1 year low of $36.15 and a 1 year high of $47.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $139.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.83, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The firm had revenue of $32.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast's payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $1,087,620.83. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total transaction of $10,002,234.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CMCSA shares. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.33.

Comcast Profile

Comcast Corporation operates as a media and technology company worldwide. It operates through Residential Connectivity & Platforms, Business Services Connectivity, Media, Studios, and Theme Parks segments. The Residential Connectivity & Platforms segment provides residential broadband and wireless connectivity services, residential and business video services, sky-branded entertainment television networks, and advertising.