DnB Asset Management AS Purchases 20,312 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

DnB Asset Management AS raised its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 760,432 shares of the cable giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,312 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Comcast were worth $28,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 904.0% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 254,545 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $10,632,000 after purchasing an additional 229,192 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Comcast in the fourth quarter worth approximately $743,681,000. Bfsg LLC increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 752.8% during the fourth 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 raised its position in shares of 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 period. Finally, Robinson Value Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 136.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on CMCSA. Bank of America downgraded shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Benchmark lowered their price objective on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Ten investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.64.

Comcast Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of Comcast stock opened at $36.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast Co. has a 52-week low of $32.50 and a 52-week high of $45.31. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.99.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is 31.81%.

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.