Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich Decreases Stock Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich lowered its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 52,020 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 1,256 shares during the quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich’s holdings in Comcast were worth $1,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Taurus Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Comcast by 2.9% in the third quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC now owns 9,125 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 3.1% in the third 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 raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 4.7% in the third quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,829 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Arvest Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 27,211 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $35.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $133.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast Co. has a 12-month low of $32.50 and a 12-month high of $45.31. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.85.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is 29.88%.

Insider Activity at Comcast

In other news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the president now owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at $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 the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,539,128.48. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CMCSA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Macquarie decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas raised Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America downgraded Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.13.

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.