IFP Advisors Inc Boosts Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,222 shares of the cable giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,645 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Comcast were worth $1,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CMCSA. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Comcast by 5.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $4,904,647,000 after acquiring an additional 6,062,658 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,871,235 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,331,192,000 after purchasing an additional 416,759 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Comcast by 6.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 30,364,136 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,268,310,000 after buying an additional 1,717,762 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its position in Comcast by 5.4% during the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 15,983,230 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $667,620,000 after buying an additional 822,936 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Comcast by 4.8% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 14,918,501 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $623,146,000 after buying an additional 676,920 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Price Performance

NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $35.10 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $36.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.52. The stock has a market cap of $132.71 billion, a PE ratio of 8.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. Comcast Co. has a one year low of $32.50 and a one year high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. Equities research analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS 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 $0.33 dividend. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is 31.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CMCSA. Bank of America lowered shares of 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. Evercore ISI raised Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Benchmark cut their price objective on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lowered Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $48.00 to $44.50 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

About Comcast

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.