Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Position Boosted by Dodge & Cox

Dodge & Cox boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,102,667 shares of the cable giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,039,823 shares during the period. Comcast makes up approximately 1.7% of Dodge & Cox’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Dodge & Cox owned about 2.09% of Comcast worth $2,968,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jump Financial LLC grew its position in Comcast by 49.1% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 83,699 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $3,141,000 after purchasing an additional 27,576 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 115.4% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,999,578 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $112,574,000 after acquiring an additional 1,606,937 shares in the last quarter. M Holdings Securities Inc. boosted its position in Comcast by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. M Holdings Securities Inc. now owns 31,068 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,166,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super acquired a new position in Comcast in the 4th quarter worth about $12,743,000. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast during the 4th quarter worth about $3,422,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMCSA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Barclays lowered their price target on Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.50.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of Comcast stock opened at $34.15 on Tuesday. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $32.20 and a 52 week high of $45.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.23, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. 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.