Brandes Investment Partners LP Sells 160,021 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Brandes Investment Partners LP lessened its holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,026,288 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 160,021 shares during the quarter. Comcast comprises approximately 2.1% of Brandes Investment Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned 0.13% of Comcast worth $188,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Comcast by 269.9% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $35.43 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $35.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.20. 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 $133.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.54, 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 3.73%. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Benchmark decreased their target price on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Macquarie decreased their price objective on Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

About Comcast

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.