Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08, Zacks reports. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $33.66 on Friday. Comcast has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $47.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.07. The firm has a market cap of $128.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

Insider Activity at Comcast

In other Comcast news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $1,087,620.83. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total transaction of $10,002,234.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Benchmark lowered their price target on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Pivotal Research lifted their price objective 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Comcast has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

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.