Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Purchased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 575,993 shares of the cable giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,881 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $25,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Keystone Financial Services raised its holdings in Comcast by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 20,432 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Comcast by 0.7% during the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,950 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,550,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Ironwood Financial llc boosted its stake in Comcast by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ironwood Financial llc now owns 15,449 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $685,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Welch Group LLC grew its holdings in Comcast by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 5,674 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 19,414 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $807,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.99. 20,449,255 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,682,635. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $36.38 and a 1-year high of $47.46. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $41.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.86 billion, a PE ratio of 10.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.98.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The cable giant reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.04. Comcast had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The firm had revenue of $31.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.41 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 3rd will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 2nd. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is 33.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMCSA has been the subject of several research reports. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $44.00 in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Comcast from $55.00 to $53.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas restated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Comcast news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 114,749 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.10, for a total transaction of $5,289,928.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

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.