Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $743.68 Million in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 19,815,653 shares of the cable giant’s stock, valued at approximately $743,681,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Comcast by 269.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Comcast during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $35.56 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $134.45 billion, a PE ratio of 8.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast Co. has a twelve month low of $32.50 and a twelve month high of $45.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company’s 50 day moving average is $36.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.39.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share 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%. Analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.83.

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.