Franklin Resources Inc. Has $1.03 Billion Stock Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 7.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,566,716 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 1,876,111 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.64% of Comcast worth $1,031,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Comcast by 365.4% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp boosted its position in Comcast by 177.1% during the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 812 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Comcast

In related news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $10,002,234.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,539,128.48. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $40.24 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $42.33 and its 200-day moving average is $40.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.98 billion, a PE ratio of 10.82, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.99. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $36.43 and a 1-year high of $47.11.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $32.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.78 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 11.92%. Comcast’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CMCSA shares. StockNews.com lowered Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Evercore ISI raised Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp raised their price target on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.19.

Comcast 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.