DDD Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

DDD Partners LLC cut its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 444,519 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 2,193 shares during the quarter. Comcast comprises about 2.6% of DDD Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. DDD Partners LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $19,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CMCSA. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Comcast by 94.1% in the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 623 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its stake in Comcast by 299.1% in the fourth quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 634,727 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 475,675 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in Comcast in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Comcast by 205.7% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 917 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on CMCSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Comcast from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research note on Tuesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.68.

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA opened at $43.07 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.22. The firm has a market cap of $171.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.98. Comcast Co. has a twelve month low of $36.35 and a twelve month high of $47.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The cable giant reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.04. Comcast had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The firm had revenue of $31.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.41 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 3rd will be given a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.18%.

Insider Transactions at Comcast

In other news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 114,749 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.10, for a total value of $5,289,928.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

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.