Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,725,355 shares of the cable giant’s stock after buying an additional 158,639 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.65% of Comcast worth $927,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CMCSA. Colrain Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter worth about $2,984,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Comcast by 225.5% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 216,185 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $8,113,000 after acquiring an additional 149,772 shares during the period. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Comcast by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 38,905 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,460,000 after acquiring an additional 4,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everstar Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Comcast by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Everstar Asset Management LLC now owns 7,712 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA opened at $36.62 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast Co. has a 52-week low of $32.50 and a 52-week high of $45.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. 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. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CMCSA. Macquarie lowered their price objective on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America cut shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.64.

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.