Cidel Asset Management Inc. Buys 2,348 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 66,067 shares of the cable giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,348 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $2,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CMCSA. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 904.0% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 254,545 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $10,632,000 after purchasing an additional 229,192 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Comcast by 15.2% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 171,440 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $7,161,000 after buying an additional 22,684 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Comcast by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,920,800 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $80,232,000 after buying an additional 68,139 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 855,787 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $32,118,000 after acquiring an additional 24,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Comcast by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 2,210,469 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $92,331,000 after acquiring an additional 15,807 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Down 0.3 %

Comcast stock opened at $34.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company’s 50-day moving average is $37.89 and its 200-day moving average is $39.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.52 billion, a PE ratio of 8.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast Co. has a fifty-two week low of $32.50 and a fifty-two week high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CMCSA. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup cut their price objective on Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Comcast news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, 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 SEC, which is accessible 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 stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 1.26% 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.