Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Price Target Lowered to $37.00 at Barclays

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) had its price objective cut by Barclays from $42.00 to $37.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the cable giant’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark cut their price objective on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.13.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of CMCSA opened at $33.19 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $38.61 and a 200-day moving average of $40.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Comcast has a 1 year low of $32.50 and a 1 year high of $45.38. The company has a market capitalization of $127.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.88%.

Insider Activity

In other Comcast news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 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 trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. FMR LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $4,904,647,000 after purchasing an additional 6,062,658 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 416,759 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its position in shares of Comcast by 5.4% in the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 15,983,230 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $667,620,000 after purchasing an additional 822,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Comcast by 4.8% during 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.