Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. Sells 8,240 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. lessened its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,318 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 8,240 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.'s holdings in Comcast were worth $4,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in shares of Comcast by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC increased its position in Comcast by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Five Oceans Advisors raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 12,336 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $463,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 26,470 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $993,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beck Mack & Oliver LLC grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC now owns 15,539 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Comcast Stock Up 1.2 %

CMCSA opened at $33.96 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $35.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.32. Comcast Co. has a 52 week low of $32.20 and a 52 week high of $45.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $128.40 billion, a PE ratio of 8.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. This is a positive change from Comcast's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast's payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on CMCSA. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Comcast from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comcast has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.

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