Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Given New $45.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) had its price objective increased by Scotiabank from $44.50 to $45.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the cable giant's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on CMCSA. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie lowered their price objective on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.90.

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Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $33.72. 26,797,395 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,729,144. The company has a market cap of $127.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. Comcast has a twelve month low of $32.20 and a twelve month high of $45.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.56.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Comcast will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 a positive change from Comcast's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. Comcast's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.81%.

Institutional Trading of Comcast

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CMCSA. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 904.0% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 254,545 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $10,632,000 after buying an additional 229,192 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $743,681,000. Bfsg LLC grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 752.8% during the 4th quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 83,366 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $3,129,000 after buying an additional 73,590 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in Comcast by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 43,509 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 3,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robinson Value Management Ltd. increased its stake in Comcast by 136.7% during the fourth quarter. Robinson Value Management Ltd. now owns 102,360 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $3,842,000 after acquiring an additional 59,107 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company's stock.

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.