Hi Line Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Hi Line Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 221,302 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 1,406 shares during the quarter. Comcast makes up approximately 3.6% of Hi Line Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Hi Line Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $8,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 904.0% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 254,545 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $10,632,000 after acquiring an additional 229,192 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 752.8% in the fourth quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 83,366 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $3,129,000 after purchasing an additional 73,590 shares during the period. Robinson Value Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 136.7% in the fourth quarter. Robinson Value Management Ltd. now owns 102,360 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $3,842,000 after purchasing an additional 59,107 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 15.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 171,440 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $7,161,000 after purchasing an additional 22,684 shares during the period. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 855,787 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $32,118,000 after purchasing an additional 24,827 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CMCSA. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lowered shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $1,087,620.83. Following the transaction, the president now owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at $22,779,218.91. This represents a 4.56 % 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 $36.26 on Monday. Comcast Co. has a fifty-two week low of $32.50 and a fifty-two week high of $45.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.59. The company has a market capitalization of $137.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68.

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

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.81%.

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.