Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Sets New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $36.15 and last traded at $36.28, with a volume of 13199495 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.45.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CMCSA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Comcast from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 4th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Comcast from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Comcast from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $48.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.33.

Comcast Stock Down 0.2 %

The company has a market cap of $139.21 billion, a PE ratio of 9.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $40.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.23.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The company had revenue of $32.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast's payout ratio is 33.33%.

Insider Activity at Comcast

In other news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 534,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,779,218.91. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total transaction of $10,002,234.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at $284,539,128.48. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.26% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Comcast during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Comcast by 365.4% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Comcast during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Comcast by 220.3% during the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast Company 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.