LPL Financial LLC Reduces Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

LPL Financial LLC reduced its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,249,567 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 54,683 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.08% of Comcast worth $135,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 47.6% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 2,231 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Comcast in the 1st quarter worth about $773,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Comcast by 4.2% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 272,668 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $11,820,000 after acquiring an additional 11,077 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 41.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,016,389 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,214,512,000 after acquiring an additional 8,243,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QVR LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the first quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $43.47 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $41.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. Comcast Co. has a fifty-two week low of $36.43 and a fifty-two week high of $47.11.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $32.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.78 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Comcast's payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Comcast from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Pivotal Research increased their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.19.

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.

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