Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Sold by Wright Investors Service Inc.

Wright Investors Service Inc. lowered its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 197,168 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 12,847 shares during the quarter. Comcast comprises about 2.4% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $8,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CMCSA. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Comcast by 94.1% during the 3rd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 623 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its stake in Comcast by 299.1% during the 4th quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 634,727 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 475,675 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Lipe & Dalton purchased a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Comcast

In other news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 114,749 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.10, for a total transaction of $5,289,928.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CMCSA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Comcast from $55.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com cut Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.50.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $39.54. 3,595,016 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,451,150. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $36.38 and a 1 year high of $47.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.76. The stock has a market cap of $157.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.65, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.98.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $31.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.41 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 19.75%. On average, research analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.33%.

Comcast 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.