Cullen Capital Management LLC Has $185.40 Million Stock Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Cullen Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,939,981 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 195,281 shares during the period. Comcast makes up approximately 2.1% of Cullen Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $185,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at $3,835,226,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Comcast by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 85,812,139 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $3,212,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,272 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Comcast by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 34,101,077 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,279,813,000 after buying an additional 2,270,186 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Comcast by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 32,709,601 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,227,591,000 after buying an additional 838,366 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,725,355 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $927,943,000 after acquiring an additional 158,639 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Trading Down 6.6 %

NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $33.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $35.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast Co. has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released 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 net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. On average, analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. Comcast’s payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on CMCSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America lowered Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.08.

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.