Franklin Resources Inc. Has $927.94 Million Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,725,355 shares of the cable giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 158,639 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $927,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter worth $3,835,226,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at $743,681,000. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 147.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 24,086,671 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $895,499,000 after purchasing an additional 14,369,056 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Comcast by 55,334.5% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,273,052 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $345,565,000 after buying an additional 8,258,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in Comcast by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 34,101,077 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,279,813,000 after buying an additional 2,270,186 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of Comcast stock opened at $36.62 on Monday. Comcast Co. has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $45.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $138.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00.

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 return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. Research analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Comcast’s payout ratio is 31.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Benchmark cut their target price on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.64.

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.