Essential Planning LLC. Makes New $6.75 Million Investment in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 162,638 shares of the cable giant’s stock, valued at approximately $6,750,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Comcast by 904.0% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 254,545 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $10,632,000 after purchasing an additional 229,192 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC boosted its position in Comcast by 752.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Comcast in the 4th quarter worth approximately $743,681,000. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its position in Comcast by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 43,509 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 3,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robinson Value Management Ltd. boosted its position in Comcast by 136.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CMCSA shares. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America lowered Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 target price on Comcast in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie reduced their price objective on Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.83.

Comcast Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $35.95 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $135.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.66, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast Co. has a 12-month low of $32.50 and a 12-month high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.