Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Trims Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators cut its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 14.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,189 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 2,129 shares during the quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Comcast were worth $509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CMCSA. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Comcast by 204.7% during the 2nd quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Comcast by 365.4% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp grew its position in Comcast by 177.1% in the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 812 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Up 6.1 %

Shares of Comcast stock opened at $45.14 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $174.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $41.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. Comcast Co. has a one year low of $36.43 and a one year high of $47.11.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The company had revenue of $32.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Pivotal Research lifted their target price on Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Comcast from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Comcast from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $47.75 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.75.

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.