National Pension Service Sells 470,217 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

National Pension Service cut its stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,231,312 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 470,217 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.22% of Comcast worth $308,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Comcast by 269.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comcast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Comcast during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Comcast by 54.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 814 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.83.

Comcast Trading Down 1.2 %

Comcast stock opened at $35.85 on Wednesday. Comcast Co. has a one year low of $32.50 and a one year high of $45.31. The stock has a market cap of $135.55 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.55.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 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 paid a $0.33 dividend. This is a positive change 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 3.68%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.81%.

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.