Norges Bank Buys New Stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 102,190,930 shares of the cable giant’s stock, valued at approximately $3,835,226,000. Comcast accounts for approximately 0.5% of Norges Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Comcast by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 34,101,077 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,279,813,000 after buying an additional 2,270,186 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 32,709,601 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,227,591,000 after acquiring an additional 838,366 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 6.0% in the 3rd 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 worth $1,268,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717,762 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Comcast by 147.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 24,086,671 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $895,499,000 after purchasing an additional 14,369,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at about $743,681,000. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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, January 31st. Macquarie lowered their target price on Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.64.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $37.37 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $141.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.00, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $35.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.02. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $32.50 and a 1-year high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted 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 net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. Research analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

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.