Providence Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 3,500 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 151,672 shares of the cable giant’s stock after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $5,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $37.37 on Friday. 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 $35.89 and a 200 day moving average of $39.01. The firm has a market cap of $141.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.00, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast Co. has a one year low of $32.50 and a one year high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CMCSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 target price on Comcast in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.64.

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.