Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Lowers Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT trimmed its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 150,158 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 24,291 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Comcast were worth $5,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CMCSA. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 269.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Comcast in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Comcast in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Comcast by 54.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 814 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $36.26 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $36.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast Co. has a one year low of $32.50 and a one year high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the transaction, the president now owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $10,002,234.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on CMCSA. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital reduced their price objective 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. Pivotal Research increased their target price on Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.13.

Comcast 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.