Advisors Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Advisors Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,042 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 4,011 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $2,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CMCSA. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in Comcast by 14.8% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Five Oceans Advisors grew its position in shares of Comcast by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 12,336 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Comcast by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 26,470 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $993,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Old Port Advisors boosted its stake in Comcast by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 6,910 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Performance

CMCSA opened at $34.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $129.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $35.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.49. Comcast Co. has a 1 year low of $32.20 and a 1 year high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Comcast’s payout ratio is 31.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMCSA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America downgraded Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their price target on Comcast from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Comcast from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $37.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.50.

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.