Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stock Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 853.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,082,766 shares of the cable giant’s stock after buying an additional 969,173 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $40,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 54,968 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 3,587 shares during the last quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. lifted its position in Comcast by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 82,547 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $3,098,000 after buying an additional 2,034 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $316,000. Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Comcast by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,278 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantum Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,752 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Comcast

In other news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $10,002,234.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on CMCSA. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital cut 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. Finally, Pivotal Research raised their price objective on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.33.

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA stock opened at $36.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $138.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.76, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01. Comcast Co. has a fifty-two week low of $36.15 and a fifty-two week high of $47.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.20.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The business had revenue of $32.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

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.