Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 653,250 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 22,285 shares during the quarter. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $24,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Comcast by 269.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Comcast during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Comcast in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 54.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 814 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comcast currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.83.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $36.26 on Monday. Comcast Co. has a one year low of $32.50 and a one year high of $45.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. On average, analysts predict 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 paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comcast

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 shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $1,087,620.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. This trade 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.

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.