Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Sells 15,241 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS trimmed its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 428,546 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 15,241 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Comcast were worth $16,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 269.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Comcast in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in 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. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This trade 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was 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 $22,779,218.91. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lowered shares of Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $44.50 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Benchmark cut their target price on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.13.

Comcast Stock Performance

NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $35.39 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $36.93 and its 200-day moving average is $39.70. The firm has a market cap of $133.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast Co. has a 12-month low of $32.50 and a 12-month high of $45.31. 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 (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. Sell-side analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is presently 29.88%.

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.