Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Price Target Cut to $39.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) had its price objective cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $45.00 to $39.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the cable giant’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CMCSA. Evercore ISI raised shares of Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie lowered their price target on Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Benchmark reduced their price objective on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Comcast presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.00.

Comcast Trading Up 1.2 %

Comcast stock opened at $33.66 on Friday. Comcast has a 1 year low of $32.50 and a 1 year high of $47.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $38.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.07. The firm has a market cap of $128.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 11.92%. On average, research analysts predict that Comcast will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $10,002,234.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,779,218.91. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Comcast by 77.2% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 14,182 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 6,179 shares during the last quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. raised its holdings in Comcast by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 14,581 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $609,000 after acquiring an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 832,594 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $34,810,000 after acquiring an additional 132,442 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 786,946 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $32,871,000 after purchasing an additional 41,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 211.7% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,890,571 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $120,739,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,246 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

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.