Schroder Investment Management Group Raises Stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 29.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,409,429 shares of the cable giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 547,280 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned 0.06% of Comcast worth $90,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 269.9% in the 4th 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 purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $36.62 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $138.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.82, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.99. Comcast Co. has a twelve month low of $32.50 and a twelve month high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS 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%. Research analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CMCSA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Benchmark dropped their price target on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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.