Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Cuts Stock Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership decreased its holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 24,400,475 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 3,260,740 shares during the quarter. Comcast makes up 0.7% of Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Comcast were worth $915,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 269.9% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Comcast in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Price Performance

Comcast stock opened at $36.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $138.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast Co. has a one year low of $32.50 and a one year high of $45.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $35.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.99. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 3.60%. Comcast’s payout ratio is 31.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CMCSA. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup cut 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, Scotiabank lowered shares of Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $44.50 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.64.

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.