Kovack Advisors Inc. Purchases 300 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,470 shares of the cable giant’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 55,334.5% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,273,052 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $345,565,000 after acquiring an additional 8,258,128 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Comcast by 5.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $4,904,647,000 after purchasing an additional 6,062,658 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Comcast by 530.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,429,298 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $143,242,000 after purchasing an additional 2,885,370 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Comcast by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 7,613,977 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $318,036,000 after buying an additional 1,833,453 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Comcast by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 30,364,136 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,268,310,000 after buying an additional 1,717,762 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast Trading Up 0.8 %

CMCSA opened at $35.39 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.81 billion, a PE ratio of 8.53, a P/E/G 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $32.50 and a fifty-two week high of $45.31. The company’s 50-day moving average is $36.37 and its 200 day moving average is $39.49.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. As a group, 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. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.73%. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CMCSA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Pivotal Research lifted their price objective on Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Benchmark decreased their target price on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.