Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Purchases 6,911 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 64.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,673 shares of the cable giant’s stock after buying an additional 6,911 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $743,681,000. Amundi grew its stake in Comcast by 147.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 24,086,671 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $895,499,000 after buying an additional 14,369,056 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in Comcast by 55,334.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,273,052 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $345,565,000 after acquiring an additional 8,258,128 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,885,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Comcast by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 34,101,077 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,279,813,000 after acquiring an additional 2,270,186 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of Comcast stock opened at $37.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $32.50 and a 1-year high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. On average, equities analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is 31.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded shares of Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $44.50 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.64.

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.