GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Sells 1,088 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,912 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 1,088 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CMCSA. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in Comcast by 55,334.5% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,273,052 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $345,565,000 after acquiring an additional 8,258,128 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $4,904,647,000 after purchasing an additional 6,062,658 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Comcast by 530.5% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,429,298 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $143,242,000 after purchasing an additional 2,885,370 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Comcast by 31.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 7,613,977 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $318,036,000 after purchasing an additional 1,833,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Comcast by 6.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 30,364,136 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,268,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717,762 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Stock Up 1.2 %

CMCSA stock opened at $33.66 on Monday. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $32.50 and a 1-year high of $47.11. The stock has a market cap of $128.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company’s 50 day moving average is $38.61 and its 200 day moving average is $40.07.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted 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 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. Sell-side analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is 31.81%.

Insider Transactions at Comcast

In other Comcast news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were 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 $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on CMCSA. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Comcast from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $47.75 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.