Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Down 0.8%

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) dropped 0.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $42.14 and last traded at $42.29. Approximately 2,408,256 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 20,085,209 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CMCSA. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.68.

Comcast Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $171.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.22.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The cable giant reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.04. Comcast had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The company had revenue of $31.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.41 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 2nd. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comcast

In other news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 114,749 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.10, for a total value of $5,289,928.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Comcast

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Comcast by 94.1% in the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 623 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its position in shares of Comcast by 299.1% in the fourth quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 634,727 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 475,675 shares during the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.