Mechanics Financial Corp Purchases Shares of 1,718 Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Mechanics Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,718 shares of the cable giant’s stock, valued at approximately $64,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $36.62 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast Co. has a twelve month low of $32.50 and a twelve month high of $45.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $35.89 and a 200 day moving average of $38.99. The stock has a market cap of $138.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMCSA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their price target on Comcast from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.