KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $54.16 Million in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,443,006 shares of the cable giant’s stock, valued at approximately $54,156,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Comcast in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Comcast in the third quarter worth $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America downgraded shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded shares of Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $44.50 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.83.

Comcast Stock Performance

Comcast stock opened at $36.75 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.08. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $32.50 and a 12-month high of $45.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 3.59%. 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 31.81%.

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.