Valley National Advisers Inc. Trims Stock Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Valley National Advisers Inc. trimmed its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 28.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,234 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 27,314 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.'s holdings in Comcast were worth $2,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its position in Comcast by 77.2% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 14,182 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 6,179 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 832,594 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $34,810,000 after acquiring an additional 132,442 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Comcast by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 786,946 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $32,871,000 after acquiring an additional 41,061 shares during the period. Farmers Trust Co. bought a new stake in Comcast during the third quarter worth about $228,000. Finally, Apella Capital LLC grew its holdings in Comcast by 19.2% in the third quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 7,880 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Comcast

In related news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value 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 represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Pivotal Research lifted their target price on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America downgraded Comcast from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday. Benchmark reduced their price target on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Comcast from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Macquarie reduced their price objective on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Comcast Stock Up 1.2 %

Comcast stock opened at $33.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $128.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $38.61 and a 200 day moving average of $40.07. Comcast Co. has a one year low of $32.50 and a one year high of $47.11.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.25 EPS for the current 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 is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. Comcast's payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

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.

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