Valmark Advisers Inc. Lowers Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Valmark Advisers Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,136 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 2,812 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $493,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $525,000. Hourglass Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 30.6% during the 4th quarter. Hourglass Capital LLC now owns 55,450 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $2,081,000 after purchasing an additional 12,980 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,654,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Comcast by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 91,037 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $3,378,000 after buying an additional 16,419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palumbo Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Comcast by 263.2% during the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 45,790 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after buying an additional 33,181 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of CMCSA opened at $35.39 on Tuesday. Comcast Co. has a 52-week low of $32.50 and a 52-week high of $45.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.70. The company has a market capitalization of $133.81 billion, a PE ratio of 8.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Pivotal Research upped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.