Virtu Financial LLC Acquires New Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 134,158 shares of the cable giant’s stock, valued at approximately $5,035,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sciencast Management LP boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Sciencast Management LP now owns 75,498 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $2,833,000 after buying an additional 11,674 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments increased its position in shares of Comcast by 112.4% in the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 38,310 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,438,000 after purchasing an additional 20,272 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $494,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth $200,000. Finally, Loudon Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC now owns 110,553 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $4,149,000 after buying an additional 6,113 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $36.75 on Friday. Comcast Co. has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $45.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $35.83 and a 200-day moving average of $39.08. The company has a market cap of $138.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.86, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on CMCSA shares. BNP Paribas raised Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Benchmark dropped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank cut shares of Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $44.50 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Comcast currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.83.

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.