Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Sold by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management lowered its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 123,006 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 2,062 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Comcast were worth $4,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 55,334.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,273,052 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $345,565,000 after acquiring an additional 8,258,128 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 6,062,658 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 530.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,885,370 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in 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 worth $318,036,000 after purchasing an additional 1,833,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Comcast by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 30,364,136 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,268,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717,762 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Comcast news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the sale, the president now owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % 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 Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA opened at $33.55 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast Co. has a 12-month low of $32.50 and a 12-month high of $45.38. The stock has a market cap of $128.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.08, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $38.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.97.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (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, research analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.4 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMCSA has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Macquarie lowered their price objective on Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.13.

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.