Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Given New $36.00 Price Target at Macquarie

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) had its price objective decreased by analysts at Macquarie from $42.00 to $36.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the cable giant’s stock. Macquarie’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.85% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI raised Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America downgraded Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.53.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $33.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,989,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,830,689. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $32.50 and a fifty-two week high of $47.11. The company has a market capitalization of $128.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.06, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.11.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 11.92%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Comcast will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comcast

In related news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $1,087,620.83. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Comcast by 269.9% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Comcast by 365.4% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Comcast in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 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.