Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Purchased by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,947,986 shares of the cable giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,471 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $73,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,322,639 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $49,639,000 after purchasing an additional 18,251 shares in the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Comcast by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 8,593 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 2,096 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Comcast by 96.1% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,923 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 2,902 shares in the last quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC raised its holdings in shares of Comcast by 57.3% during the fourth quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC now owns 16,912 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 6,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP now owns 9,452 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,930 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $35.39 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $133.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast Co. has a 12-month low of $32.50 and a 12-month high of $45.31. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share 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 expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. This is a positive change 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 yield of 3.73%. Comcast’s payout ratio is presently 29.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America downgraded Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank cut shares of Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $44.50 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.13.

Insider Transactions at Comcast

In other Comcast news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the firm’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 value of $1,087,620.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,779,218.91. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $10,002,234.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at $284,539,128.48. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Comcast 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.