Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 2,599,470 Shares of Comcast Corporation $CMCSA

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,646,533 shares of the cable giant’s stock after buying an additional 2,599,470 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.68% of Comcast worth $736,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast during the third quarter worth $26,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comcast during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Comcast by 212.6% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,016 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Stock Down 0.3%

CMCSA stock opened at $23.76 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $26.67 and its 200 day moving average is $28.40. The stock has a market cap of $84.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Comcast Corporation has a 1-year low of $23.13 and a 1-year high of $36.66.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The cable giant reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $31.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.42 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Comcast Corporation will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CMCSA. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on shares of Comcast from $30.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Comcast from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Comcast to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Comcast in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Comcast from $33.00 to $35.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.56.

About Comcast

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is a diversified global media and technology company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its principal operations are organized around Comcast Cable, which provides broadband internet, video, voice and wireless services to residential and business customers in the United States under the Xfinity and Comcast Business brands, and NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment group that develops, produces and distributes content across broadcast and cable networks, film, and streaming platforms.

NBCUniversal’s assets include the NBC broadcast network, a portfolio of cable channels, Universal Pictures and other film and television production businesses, and the Peacock streaming service.