Martin Capital Partners LLC Sells 68,744 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Martin Capital Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 58.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,284 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 68,744 shares during the period. Comcast accounts for 2.2% of Martin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Martin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $1,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Comcast by 269.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Comcast in the third quarter worth about $30,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 365.4% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 220.3% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Comcast by 54.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 814 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMCSA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America downgraded shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.13.

Comcast Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $33.55 on Wednesday. Comcast Co. has a 12-month low of $32.50 and a 12-month high of $45.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $128.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.08, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $38.22 and its 200 day moving average is $39.97.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $10,002,234.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,779,218.91. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.