First Trust Advisors LP Buys 235,301 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,828,656 shares of the cable giant's stock after acquiring an additional 235,301 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.10% of Comcast worth $143,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 269.9% in 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 during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Comcast in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Comcast Trading Up 0.7 %

Comcast stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.43. 28,156,667 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,760,766. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.30, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $35.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast Co. has a 12 month low of $32.20 and a 12 month high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. Analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.83%. Comcast's payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CMCSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Comcast from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $37.00 to $31.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Comcast from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered Comcast from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.50.

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.