Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Sold by Carret Asset Management LLC

Carret Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 66,701 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 2,666 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $2,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 269.9% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CMCSA. BNP Paribas raised shares of Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Comcast presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.83.

Comcast Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $34.70 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.23. The company has a market capitalization of $131.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. Comcast Co. has a 52-week low of $32.50 and a 52-week high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.81%.

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.