Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Downgraded by Scotiabank to Sector Perform

Scotiabank downgraded shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) from a sector outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $44.50 price target on the cable giant’s stock, down from their previous price target of $48.00.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on CMCSA. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Macquarie cut their price target on Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Comcast has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.13.

Comcast Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $33.19 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $127.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.00, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $45.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.07.

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 return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.98%. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 29.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Comcast news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the president now owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,779,218.91. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in Comcast by 18.9% in the third 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 lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 786,946 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $32,871,000 after purchasing an additional 41,061 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 41.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 55,912 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 16,507 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of Comcast by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 208,262 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $8,699,000 after purchasing an additional 29,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 8,058 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

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.