China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 26.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,120 shares of the cable giant’s stock after buying an additional 13,121 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $2,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 55,334.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 8,258,128 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Comcast by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $4,904,647,000 after buying an additional 6,062,658 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in 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 valued at $143,242,000 after buying an additional 2,885,370 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 211.7% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,890,571 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $120,739,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 31.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 7,613,977 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $318,036,000 after acquiring an additional 1,833,453 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Comcast Stock Performance

Comcast stock opened at $33.66 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $38.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Comcast Co. has a twelve month low of $32.50 and a twelve month high of $47.11. The company has a market cap of $128.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its 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 return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 11.92%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. 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 3.92%. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CMCSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Insider Activity at Comcast

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

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.