Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Kesler Norman & Wride LLC

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 35.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 19,653 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 10,913 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $738,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Comcast by 290.6% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 149,314 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $6,237,000 after purchasing an additional 111,092 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 72.1% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 31,195 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,303,000 after buying an additional 13,066 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Comcast by 4.9% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,732,275 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $72,344,000 after buying an additional 80,439 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Comcast by 173.6% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,418,064 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $59,237,000 after acquiring an additional 899,716 shares during the period. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC raised its position in Comcast by 4.4% in the third quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 33,283 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $36.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.42 billion, a PE ratio of 8.82, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast Co. has a 1 year low of $32.50 and a 1 year high of $45.31. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.94.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CMCSA. Benchmark reduced their price objective on shares of Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas raised Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Ten equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.64.

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.