Beacon Financial Group Cuts Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Beacon Financial Group decreased its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 57.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 57,718 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 79,426 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in Comcast were worth $2,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Comcast by 269.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 365.4% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comcast in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Comcast by 220.3% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA opened at $35.23 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.85. The company has a market cap of $133.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast Co. has a 12-month low of $32.50 and a 12-month high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly 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, equities analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on CMCSA. Scotiabank lowered Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $48.00 to $44.50 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comcast

In related news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the transaction, the president now owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at $22,779,218.91. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total transaction of $10,002,234.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

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.