Private Advisor Group LLC Sells 15,306 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Private Advisor Group LLC cut its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 352,575 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 15,306 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Comcast were worth $13,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CMCSA. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 204.1% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 110,400 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $4,143,000 after acquiring an additional 74,100 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 15,322 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Comcast by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 57,842 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 34,482 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 4,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $218,000. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Comcast news, 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 directly owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Comcast Stock Performance

NASDAQ CMCSA traded down $0.16 on Friday, reaching $36.26. The stock had a trading volume of 21,402,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,761,117. Comcast Co. has a 12-month low of $32.50 and a 12-month high of $45.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $137.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.00. The business's 50-day moving average price is $36.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.60.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last announced 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, equities analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CMCSA shares. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays cut their price target on Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Comcast from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.