Associated Banc Corp Trims Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Associated Banc Corp cut its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 378,119 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 24,623 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Comcast were worth $14,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Comcast by 269.9% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Comcast during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of CMCSA opened at $35.43 on Friday. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $32.50 and a 1-year high of $45.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.92 and a 200 day moving average of $39.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.54, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMCSA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” 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 issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

About Comcast

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.