Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 22,090 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 19.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,285 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 22,090 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Comcast were worth $3,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in Comcast by 55,334.5% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,273,052 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $345,565,000 after purchasing an additional 8,258,128 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Comcast by 5.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $4,904,647,000 after purchasing an additional 6,062,658 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Comcast by 530.5% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,429,298 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $143,242,000 after purchasing an additional 2,885,370 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Comcast by 31.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 7,613,977 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $318,036,000 after purchasing an additional 1,833,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in 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. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading 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 company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast Co. has a 52 week low of $32.50 and a 52 week high of $45.31. The firm has a market capitalization 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.58.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the president now owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America cut shares of Comcast from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Pivotal Research increased their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comcast currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.13.

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.