Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC decreased its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,784,048 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 185,879 shares during the period. Comcast accounts for 1.2% of Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC owned about 0.07% of Comcast worth $104,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CMCSA. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $36.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $138.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.99. Comcast Co. has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. 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. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on CMCSA shares. Macquarie lowered their target price on Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.64.

Comcast 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.