Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lessened its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 35.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 468,671 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 252,581 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Comcast were worth $17,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Comcast by 269.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Monday, hitting $33.77. The stock had a trading volume of 27,894,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,843,929. 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 twelve month low of $31.44 and a twelve month high of $45.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.14, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company's 50-day moving average price is $35.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.98.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The cable giant reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. The company had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. Comcast's revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.91%. This is a boost from Comcast's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast's payout ratio is presently 32.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on CMCSA. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Comcast from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $37.00 to $31.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $37.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a report on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.88.

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.