Rhumbline Advisers Cuts Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,440,527 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 110,679 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.19% of Comcast worth $279,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Comcast by 269.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Comcast by 365.4% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Comcast in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Comcast by 220.3% during the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.48. 22,698,377 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,956,936. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business's fifty day moving average price is $36.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.64. Comcast Co. has a 12-month low of $32.50 and a 12-month high of $45.31. The company has a market cap of $137.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.79, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is an increase from Comcast's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Comcast's payout ratio is presently 29.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was 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 directly owns 6,669,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $1,087,620.83. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at $22,779,218.91. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CMCSA. Pivotal Research increased their target price on Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective 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. Evercore ISI raised Comcast to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Comcast from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.