Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Acquires Shares of 73,500 Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 73,500 shares of the cable giant's stock, valued at approximately $2,758,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CMCSA. FMR LLC raised its stake in Comcast by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $4,904,647,000 after acquiring an additional 6,062,658 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 1.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,871,235 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,331,192,000 after purchasing an additional 416,759 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 6.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 30,364,136 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $1,268,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717,762 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 5.4% during the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 15,983,230 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $667,620,000 after purchasing an additional 822,936 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in Comcast by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 14,918,501 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $623,146,000 after buying an additional 676,920 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Comcast news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total transaction of $10,002,234.24. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $1,087,620.83. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities dropped 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. Pivotal Research raised their price target on Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.13.

Comcast Price Performance

NASDAQ:CMCSA traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $36.26. 21,402,835 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 26,761,117. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $32.50 and a 1-year high of $45.31. The stock has a market cap of $137.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's 50-day moving average is $36.65 and its 200-day moving average is $39.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is an increase from Comcast's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. Comcast's payout ratio is 29.88%.

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.