Balentine LLC Buys 3,055 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Balentine LLC increased its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 33.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,144 shares of the cable giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,055 shares during the period. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Comcast by 269.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 365.4% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 220.3% during the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $34.47 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast Co. has a 52 week low of $32.50 and a 52 week high of $45.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.71 and a 200-day moving average of $39.88. The company has a market cap of $130.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. Comcast’s payout ratio is 29.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comcast

In other Comcast news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of Comcast 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the company’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 in the company, 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CMCSA shares. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.13.

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.