Citigroup Cuts Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Price Target to $44.00

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) had its price target trimmed by Citigroup from $47.00 to $44.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the cable giant’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped 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. Evercore ISI raised shares of Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Loop Capital cut their target price on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn raised Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Benchmark cut their price objective on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.00.

Comcast Stock Performance

Comcast stock opened at $33.66 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.07. Comcast has a twelve month low of $32.50 and a twelve month high of $47.11. The company has a market capitalization of $128.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 11.92%. Research analysts expect that Comcast will post 4.25 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Insider Activity at Comcast

In other news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 5.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $4,904,647,000 after buying an additional 6,062,658 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,871,235 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,331,192,000 after acquiring an additional 416,759 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Comcast by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 30,364,136 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,268,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,717,762 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 15,983,230 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $667,620,000 after purchasing an additional 822,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 14,918,501 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $623,146,000 after purchasing an additional 676,920 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

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.