Comcast Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 46,430 call options on the company. This is an increase of 73% compared to the typical volume of 26,835 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on CMCSA shares. Benchmark lowered their price target on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Comcast from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Scotiabank cut shares of Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $44.50 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.64.

Comcast Price Performance

Comcast stock opened at $36.61 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $35.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. Comcast has a 1 year low of $32.50 and a 1 year high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is 31.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in Comcast by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Sculati Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,792 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Comcast by 54.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 814 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its stake in Comcast by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Five Oceans Advisors increased its position in Comcast by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 12,336 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.