Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP Purchases Shares of 400,000 Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 400,000 shares of the cable giant’s stock, valued at approximately $14,956,000. Comcast makes up about 1.2% of Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CMCSA. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 904.0% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 254,545 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $10,632,000 after buying an additional 229,192 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $743,681,000. Bfsg LLC raised its position in shares of Comcast by 752.8% during the 4th quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 83,366 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $3,129,000 after acquiring an additional 73,590 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in Comcast by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 43,509 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 3,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robinson Value Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Comcast by 136.7% in the fourth quarter. Robinson Value Management Ltd. now owns 102,360 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $3,842,000 after purchasing an additional 59,107 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on CMCSA. Bank of America lowered shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas upgraded Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank cut Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $48.00 to $44.50 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Macquarie dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.64.

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA opened at $37.37 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $35.89 and a 200-day moving average of $39.01. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $32.50 and a 1-year 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 stock has a market capitalization of $141.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is 31.81%.

Comcast Company 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.