Fmr LLC Sells 475,395 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Fmr LLC reduced its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,944,933 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 475,395 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $4,388,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Comcast by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 678,694 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $25,471,000 after buying an additional 2,652 shares in the last quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in Comcast by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 465,000 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $17,451,000 after acquiring an additional 111,500 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Comcast by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,695,517 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $213,562,000 after purchasing an additional 775,826 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth $778,000. Finally, Payden & Rygel boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 627.3% in the 4th quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 215,070 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $8,072,000 after purchasing an additional 185,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA stock opened at $33.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.87. Comcast Co. has a 12-month low of $32.50 and a 12-month high of $45.31. The firm has a market cap of $126.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. On average, analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on CMCSA shares. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. 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. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Ten investment 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, Comcast presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.