Verus Financial Partners Inc. Makes New Investment in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Verus Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 5,316 shares of the cable giant’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CMCSA. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Comcast during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 204.7% in the second quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 365.4% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 177.1% during the second quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 812 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $43.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $170.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.18 and a 200 day moving average of $39.71. Comcast Co. has a 52 week low of $36.43 and a 52 week high of $47.11.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 11.92%. The company had revenue of $32.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CMCSA shares. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank upgraded Comcast from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $47.75 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.75.

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.