Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Stock Position Cut by Brandes Investment Partners LP

Brandes Investment Partners LP cut its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,026,288 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 160,021 shares during the quarter. Comcast comprises about 2.1% of Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Comcast were worth $188,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Comcast during the third quarter worth about $430,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Comcast by 4.6% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,158,063 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $48,372,000 after buying an additional 50,583 shares in the last quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Comcast by 6.0% during the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 224,917 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $9,395,000 after buying an additional 12,766 shares in the last quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Comcast by 9.6% during the third quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC now owns 44,232 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,848,000 after buying an additional 3,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Comcast by 0.8% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 84,230 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $3,518,000 after buying an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Price Performance

Comcast stock opened at $35.43 on Friday. Comcast Co. has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $45.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.96 billion, a PE ratio of 8.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted 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 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. Equities analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CMCSA shares. Benchmark lowered their price target on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas raised Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie lowered their price target on Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 price target on Comcast in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

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.