Delta Financial Group Inc. Trims Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Delta Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,298 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 1,449 shares during the quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CMCSA. Taurus Asset Management LLC raised its position in Comcast by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC now owns 9,125 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 4.7% in the third quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,829 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Comcast by 1.0% in the third quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 27,211 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mengis Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Comcast by 1.5% in the third quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,060 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $796,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 at 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 sale, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at $22,779,218.91. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Comcast Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $36.26 on Friday. Comcast Co. has a fifty-two week low of $32.50 and a fifty-two week high of $45.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.58. The company has a market cap of $137.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.88%.

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.