Sentry Investment Management LLC Cuts Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,273 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 2,649 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Comcast by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 42,222 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 1,645 shares during the last quarter. South Dakota Investment Council boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 729,186 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $27,366,000 after acquiring an additional 70,300 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth about $859,000. World Equity Group Inc. raised its stake in Comcast by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 17,601 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $661,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MONECO Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 7,877 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 1,413 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Price Performance

NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $36.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $137.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $36.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.57. Comcast Co. has a fifty-two week low of $32.50 and a fifty-two week high of $45.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie decreased their price target 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

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.