Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Cuts Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,838,787 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 69,683 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Comcast were worth $69,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $34.59 on Friday. Comcast Co. has a 12-month low of $31.44 and a 12-month high of $45.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $34.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.97.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The cable giant reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. The firm had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CMCSA. Argus cut Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $44.50 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Comcast currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.10.

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.