Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Acquired by Choate Investment Advisors

Choate Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,179 shares of the cable giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Comcast were worth $1,395,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Comcast by 269.9% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays cut their price objective on Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America lowered Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.83.

Comcast Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $35.43 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $35.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.19. Comcast Co. has a 52-week low of $32.50 and a 52-week high of $45.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.54, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

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.