Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Price Target Raised to $54.00 at Pivotal Research

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) had its price objective upped by Pivotal Research from $47.00 to $54.00 in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the cable giant’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on CMCSA. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.63.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.56. 25,078,455 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,681,141. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.58. The company has a market cap of $168.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.01. Comcast has a twelve month low of $36.43 and a twelve month high of $47.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 20.17%. The business had revenue of $32.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Comcast will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is 32.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norden Group LLC increased its holdings in Comcast by 15.8% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 21,212 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,902 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 94,411 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $4,093,000 after acquiring an additional 5,629 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 38,970 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,689,000 after acquiring an additional 1,350 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Comcast in the first quarter worth $4,117,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Comcast by 50.0% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 32,985 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,430,000 after purchasing an additional 10,994 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

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.