Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Purchased by Dodge & Cox

Dodge & Cox boosted its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,102,667 shares of the cable giant's stock after buying an additional 5,039,823 shares during the period. Comcast makes up about 1.7% of Dodge & Cox's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Dodge & Cox owned approximately 2.09% of Comcast worth $2,968,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 269.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Comcast during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on CMCSA shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities decreased 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. BNP Paribas cut Comcast from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $31.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.50.

Comcast Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Comcast stock traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $33.96. The stock had a trading volume of 21,444,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,736,500. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. Comcast Co. has a 1 year low of $32.20 and a 1 year 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.30.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 3.89%. Comcast's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.81%.

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.