Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Cuts Stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lessened its holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 265,371 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 8,716 shares during the quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp's holdings in Comcast were worth $9,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,835,226,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Comcast by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 85,812,139 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $3,212,244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006,272 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 34,101,077 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,279,813,000 after purchasing an additional 2,270,186 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Comcast by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 32,709,601 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,227,591,000 after acquiring an additional 838,366 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,725,355 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $927,943,000 after purchasing an additional 158,639 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Comcast Price Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $33.72. The company had a trading volume of 26,797,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,735,894. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.56 and a 200-day moving average of $38.56. The company has a market capitalization of $127.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. Comcast Co. has a 12-month low of $32.20 and a 12-month high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. This is a boost from Comcast's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on CMCSA. StockNews.com raised Comcast from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Macquarie lowered their price target on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Comcast from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.90.

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.