Payden & Rygel Acquires 185,500 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Payden & Rygel raised its holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 627.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 215,070 shares of the cable giant’s stock after buying an additional 185,500 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Comcast were worth $8,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Comcast by 269.9% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Comcast during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their target price on Comcast from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Bank of America lowered Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.08.

Comcast Trading Down 6.6 %

CMCSA opened at $33.38 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $35.76 and its 200-day moving average is $38.87. The company has a market cap of $126.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.04, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $32.50 and a 1-year 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.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.81%.

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.