ING Groep NV Lowers Stock Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

ING Groep NV reduced its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,725,707 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 15,565 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Comcast were worth $64,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 269.9% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Comcast in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Comcast by 220.3% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Comcast

In other news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Comcast Price Performance

Comcast stock traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $36.26. The stock had a trading volume of 21,402,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,761,117. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.00. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $32.50 and a 1-year high of $45.31. The stock's fifty day moving average is $36.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.60.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. As a group, analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Comcast from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.13.

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.