Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Sold by Wright Investors Service Inc.

Wright Investors Service Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 197,168 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 12,847 shares during the period. Comcast comprises approximately 2.4% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $8,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Peterson Wealth Services raised its stake in Comcast by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 31,473 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 50.2% in the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 16,086 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 5,376 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 162,209 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $7,113,000 after purchasing an additional 3,497 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 575,993 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $25,257,000 after purchasing an additional 21,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 101,022 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $4,430,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Comcast

In other Comcast news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 114,749 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.10, for a total value of $5,289,928.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Comcast Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA traded up $0.55 during trading on Thursday, reaching $39.54. 3,595,016 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,451,150. The firm has a market cap of $157.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.76. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $36.38 and a 1-year high of $47.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The cable giant reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $31.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.41 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 12.66%. Research analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Comcast from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comcast currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.50.

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.