Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Stake Lessened by Cutler Investment Counsel LLC

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC reduced its holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 110,722 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 5,966 shares during the quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $4,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in Comcast by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 832,594 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $34,810,000 after buying an additional 132,442 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Comcast by 2.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 959,549 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $40,080,000 after acquiring an additional 24,968 shares in the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast during the third quarter valued at approximately $590,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 45,891 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after acquiring an additional 6,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Comcast by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 46,108 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,926,000 after purchasing an additional 10,081 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CMCSA. Benchmark reduced their target price on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp upped their target price on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Comcast currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comcast

In other Comcast news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of Comcast 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 sale, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Trading Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $35.39 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $36.93 and its 200-day moving average is $39.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.68 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 $45.31. The firm has a market cap of $133.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.88%.

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.