Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 63,876 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,820,431 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 63,876 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $406,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Comcast by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,584 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,277,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Comcast by 2.9% during the third quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC now owns 9,125 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,445 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Comcast by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,829 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Comcast by 1.0% in the third quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 27,211 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Comcast Price Performance

Comcast stock opened at $34.47 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.93. Comcast Co. has a 52 week low of $32.50 and a 52 week high of $45.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.90 billion, a PE ratio of 8.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s payout ratio is 29.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CMCSA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Pivotal Research lifted their price objective on Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.13.

Insider Activity at Comcast

In related news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the president now owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,779,218.91. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

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.