Advisory Services Network LLC Purchases 14,671 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Advisory Services Network LLC increased its holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 25.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,912 shares of the cable giant's stock after purchasing an additional 14,671 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC's holdings in Comcast were worth $2,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Comcast in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,835,226,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $743,681,000. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 147.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 24,086,671 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $895,499,000 after purchasing an additional 14,369,056 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 55,334.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,273,052 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $345,565,000 after acquiring an additional 8,258,128 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Comcast by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,175,969 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $1,695,454,000 after purchasing an additional 4,669,069 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Comcast Trading Up 0.7 %

CMCSA traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $34.40. 11,186,910 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,707,080. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.05 billion, a PE ratio of 8.29, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast Co. has a 52-week low of $32.20 and a 52-week high of $45.31.

Remove Ads

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is an increase from Comcast's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. Comcast's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CMCSA shares. Bank of America downgraded shares of Comcast from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Comcast from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.50.

About Comcast

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.