Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Stock Price

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) had its price target trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $45.00 to $37.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the cable giant’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Scotiabank upgraded Comcast from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $47.75 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. 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. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.00.

Comcast Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $33.66 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $38.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.07. Comcast has a fifty-two week low of $32.50 and a fifty-two week high of $47.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $128.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Comcast will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Comcast

In other Comcast news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $10,002,234.24. Following the completion of 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. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CMCSA. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Comcast by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 57,842 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 34,482 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 4,890 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at about $218,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $123,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Comcast by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 8,615 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.