Wellington Shields & Co. LLC Reduces Stock Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Wellington Shields & Co. LLC lowered its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,377 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 582 shares during the quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Taurus Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Comcast by 2.9% in the third quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC now owns 9,125 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 14.8% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 54.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 814 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Five Oceans Advisors lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 12,336 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $463,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $35.43 on Friday. Comcast Co. has a twelve month low of $32.50 and a twelve month high of $45.31. The company’s 50 day moving average is $35.92 and its 200 day moving average is $39.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $133.96 billion, a PE ratio of 8.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMCSA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank lowered shares of Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $48.00 to $44.50 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America downgraded shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.83.

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.