Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Sells 165,735 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. lessened its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 71.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 66,197 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 165,735 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $2,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CMCSA. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 832,594 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $34,810,000 after acquiring an additional 132,442 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,321 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $807,000 after buying an additional 2,395 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 12,013 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 1,731 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 48,401 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $2,022,000 after buying an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $35.90 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.47. Comcast Co. has a one year low of $32.50 and a one year high of $45.31. The company has a market capitalization of $135.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMCSA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Pivotal Research boosted their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.83.

About Comcast

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.