Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Cut to Sector Perform at Scotiabank

Scotiabank cut shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) from a sector outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. Scotiabank currently has $44.50 price objective on the cable giant’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $48.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Pivotal Research boosted their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.13.

Comcast Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of CMCSA opened at $33.94 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $38.22 and its 200 day moving average is $39.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast has a 12-month low of $32.50 and a 12-month high of $45.31. The company has a market capitalization of $129.87 billion, a PE ratio of 8.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. Research analysts expect that Comcast will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is presently 29.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $1,087,620.83. Following the transaction, the president now owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at $22,779,218.91. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total transaction of $10,002,234.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $4,904,647,000 after purchasing an additional 6,062,658 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Comcast by 1.3% in the third 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 buying an additional 416,759 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Comcast by 6.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,717,762 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 15,983,230 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $667,620,000 after acquiring an additional 822,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Comcast by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 14,918,501 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $623,146,000 after acquiring an additional 676,920 shares during the period. 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.