Bridgewater Associates LP Purchases 1,606,937 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Bridgewater Associates LP increased its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 115.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,999,578 shares of the cable giant's stock after buying an additional 1,606,937 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.08% of Comcast worth $112,574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $3,835,226,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Comcast by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 85,812,139 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $3,212,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,272 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,175,969 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,695,454,000 after buying an additional 4,669,069 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 34,101,077 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,279,813,000 after buying an additional 2,270,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Comcast by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 32,709,601 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $1,227,591,000 after buying an additional 838,366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Comcast Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of CMCSA traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $33.96. 21,444,902 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,736,500. Comcast Co. has a 52 week low of $32.20 and a 52 week high of $45.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.30. The company has a market cap of $128.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.18, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Comcast's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. Comcast's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Comcast from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.50.

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.