Geode Capital Management LLC Has $3.21 Billion Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85,812,139 shares of the cable giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,006,272 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $3,212,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Comcast by 269.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Comcast in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of CMCSA opened at $36.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.98. Comcast Co. has a 52-week low of $32.50 and a 52-week high of $45.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.52 billion, a PE ratio of 8.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is 31.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CMCSA. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group cut their price target on Comcast from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.64.

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.