Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Holdings Raised by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,353,759 shares of the cable giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 135,845 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Comcast were worth $125,867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CMCSA. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth about $743,681,000. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 147.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 24,086,671 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $895,499,000 after purchasing an additional 14,369,056 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Comcast by 55,334.5% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,273,052 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $345,565,000 after purchasing an additional 8,258,128 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Comcast by 530.5% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,429,298 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $143,242,000 after buying an additional 2,885,370 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Comcast by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 34,101,077 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,279,813,000 after buying an additional 2,270,186 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMCSA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.64.

Comcast Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $37.37 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.89 and its 200-day moving average is $39.01. The company has a market cap of $141.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.00, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. 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 $32.50 and a 52-week 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 (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%. Equities research 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 dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

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.