Bislett Management LLC Increases Stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Bislett Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 210,000 shares of the cable giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares during the quarter. Comcast accounts for approximately 5.6% of Bislett Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Bislett Management LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $7,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CMCSA. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Comcast by 54.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 814 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its stake in Comcast by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Five Oceans Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 12,336 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Comcast by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 26,470 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $993,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA opened at $36.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $138.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. Comcast Co. has a fifty-two week low of $32.50 and a fifty-two week high of $45.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $35.88 and a 200 day moving average of $38.94.

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

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMCSA has been the subject of several research reports. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America downgraded shares of 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 price objective on Comcast in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.64.

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.