Flputnam Investment Management Co. Grows Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 20.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 212,330 shares of the cable giant’s stock after buying an additional 35,395 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $7,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Taurus Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 2.9% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Comcast by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 27,211 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,137,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Mengis Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Comcast by 1.5% during 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. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 54.8% in the third 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CMCSA shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie decreased their price objective on Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.83.

Comcast Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $35.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.72 billion, a PE ratio of 8.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $36.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.47. Comcast Co. has a 1 year low of $32.50 and a 1 year high of $45.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.81%.

Comcast 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.