Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Upgraded at BNP Paribas

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was upgraded by investment analysts at BNP Paribas from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $35.00 target price on the cable giant’s stock. BNP Paribas’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 5.26% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on CMCSA. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays increased their target price on Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Comcast from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $47.75 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.89.

Comcast Stock Down 11.0 %

CMCSA opened at $33.25 on Friday. Comcast has a twelve month low of $32.50 and a twelve month high of $47.11. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.15. The stock has a market cap of $127.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.94, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 11.92%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Comcast will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Comcast news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $10,002,234.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,539,128.48. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $1,087,620.83. Following 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.

Institutional Trading of Comcast

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Comcast by 0.8% during the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,584 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,277,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC now owns 9,125 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Comcast by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,445 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 4.7% during the third quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,829 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Saxon Interests Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Comcast by 2.0% during the third quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 13,554 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.