Markel Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Markel Group Inc. cut its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 961,880 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 119,361 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $36,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $743,681,000. Amundi lifted its position in Comcast by 147.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 24,086,671 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $895,499,000 after buying an additional 14,369,056 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 8,258,128 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Comcast by 5.4% during the third 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. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. BNP Paribas raised shares of Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.83.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA opened at $36.11 on Tuesday. Comcast Co. has a 1 year low of $32.50 and a 1 year high of $45.31. The company has a market cap of $136.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.70, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $36.10 and a 200-day moving average of $39.32.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 3.66%. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.