NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Decreases Stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lessened its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 373,248 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 325 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $14,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in Comcast by 55,334.5% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,273,052 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $345,565,000 after acquiring an additional 8,258,128 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $4,904,647,000 after purchasing an additional 6,062,658 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 92.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,722,620 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $339,223,000 after purchasing an additional 4,182,525 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Comcast by 530.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,429,298 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $143,242,000 after purchasing an additional 2,885,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Darsana Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in Comcast by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 9,500,000 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $372,020,000 after buying an additional 2,000,000 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CMCSA traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $36.62. 10,868,444 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,432,883. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.01. Comcast Co. has a 1 year low of $36.24 and a 1 year high of $47.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The firm had revenue of $32.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Comcast’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $10,002,234.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,539,128.48. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at $22,779,218.91. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CMCSA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comcast has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.33.

Comcast Company 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.