Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Purchases 5,016 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 415,553 shares of the cable giant’s stock after buying an additional 5,016 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $15,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 6,062,658 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in 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 worth $1,331,192,000 after purchasing an additional 416,759 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Comcast by 6.0% in the 3rd 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 valued at $1,268,310,000 after buying an additional 1,717,762 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 5.4% in 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 buying an additional 822,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 676,920 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $34.37 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $45.31. The stock has a market cap of $131.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.71 and a 200 day moving average of $39.86.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. Comcast’s payout ratio is presently 29.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CMCSA. Scotiabank cut Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $44.50 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong 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 $44.13.

Insider Transactions at Comcast

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