Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 14,247 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 218,467 shares of the cable giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,247 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $9,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,542,988,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 107,773,317 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $4,725,926,000 after acquiring an additional 15,625,543 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 116.8% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 5,145,838 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $227,034,000 after acquiring an additional 2,772,190 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Comcast by 215.7% during the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 3,622,246 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $158,835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC bought a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at $108,332,000. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Corp Comcast sold 3,176,923 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.19, for a total transaction of $10,134,384.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,000,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,380,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Comcast in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $55.00 to $53.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comcast has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.53.

Comcast Price Performance

NASDAQ:CMCSA traded up $0.86 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $40.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,650,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,304,563. The business’s 50-day moving average is $38.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.85. The company has a market capitalization of $158.79 billion, a PE ratio of 10.48, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59. Comcast Co. has a 52-week low of $36.43 and a 52-week high of $47.46.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The cable giant reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.06. Comcast had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 12.64%. The business had revenue of $30.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 3rd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.80%.

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.