Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Trading Down 1.1%

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) traded down 1.1% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $39.56 and last traded at $39.71. 2,405,460 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 20,403,191 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CMCSA shares. BNP Paribas reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Redburn Atlantic cut Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Comcast from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.50.

Comcast Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $156.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The cable giant reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.04. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 12.66%. The firm had revenue of $31.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.41 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 2nd. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 114,749 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.10, for a total transaction of $5,289,928.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Comcast

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CMCSA. Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 154.6% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 611 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Comcast by 94.1% during the 3rd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 623 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 299.1% in the fourth quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 634,727 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 475,675 shares in the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.