Root Financial Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 41.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,753 shares of the cable giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,277 shares during the quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Taurus Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Comcast by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC now owns 9,125 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Comcast by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,829 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Comcast by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 27,211 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in shares of Comcast by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mengis Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Comcast by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,060 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $796,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $35.39 on Friday. Comcast Co. has a one year low of $32.50 and a one year high of $45.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.81 billion, a PE ratio of 8.53, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $37.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.76.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. As a group, analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CMCSA. Benchmark dropped their price target on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Pivotal Research increased their price target on Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp increased 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This trade represents 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 owned by corporate 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.