Magnetar Financial LLC Buys New Shares in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 157,135 shares of the cable giant’s stock, valued at approximately $5,897,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 269.9% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Comcast during the third quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on CMCSA. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America downgraded shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lowered 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.83.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $36.09 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast Co. has a twelve month low of $32.50 and a twelve month high of $45.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.11.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.81%.

Comcast Company 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.