Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Trims Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 18.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,106 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 5,865 shares during the quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CMCSA. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in Comcast by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 832,594 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $34,810,000 after purchasing an additional 132,442 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in Comcast by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 23,070 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $964,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211 shares during the last quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management boosted its stake in Comcast by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 26,323 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,100,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc boosted its stake in Comcast by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 819,590 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $34,234,000 after purchasing an additional 13,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast during the 3rd quarter worth $203,000. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $36.30 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $36.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Comcast Co. has a 1 year low of $32.50 and a 1 year high of $45.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.25 billion, a PE ratio of 8.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. Analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is 31.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank cut shares of Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $48.00 to $44.50 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.83.

About Comcast

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.