Sciencast Management LP Raises Stock Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Sciencast Management LP lifted its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 18.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,498 shares of the cable giant's stock after purchasing an additional 11,674 shares during the quarter. Sciencast Management LP's holdings in Comcast were worth $2,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter worth approximately $743,681,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in Comcast by 147.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 24,086,671 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $895,499,000 after acquiring an additional 14,369,056 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 55,334.5% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,273,052 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $345,565,000 after acquiring an additional 8,258,128 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 5.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $4,904,647,000 after acquiring an additional 6,062,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of Comcast by 530.5% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,429,298 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $143,242,000 after purchasing an additional 2,885,370 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on CMCSA shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Macquarie decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Benchmark cut their target price on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their price target on Comcast from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.64.

Comcast Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CMCSA traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.37. 25,941,135 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,894,674. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $35.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast Co. has a one year low of $32.50 and a one year high of $45.31. The firm has a market cap of $141.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. This is a boost from Comcast's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.81%.

About Comcast

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.