LPL Financial LLC Has $129.02 Million Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,437,898 shares of the cable giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 188,331 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $129,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CMCSA. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at about $743,681,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in Comcast by 147.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 24,086,671 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $895,499,000 after acquiring an additional 14,369,056 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in Comcast by 55,334.5% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,273,052 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $345,565,000 after acquiring an additional 8,258,128 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 5.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $4,904,647,000 after acquiring an additional 6,062,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of Comcast by 530.5% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,429,298 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $143,242,000 after purchasing an additional 2,885,370 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $36.60 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.05. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $32.50 and a 1-year high of $45.31. The firm has a market cap of $138.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted 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 return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. Analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.83.

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.