Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Raises Stock Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 143.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,846 shares of the cable giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Comcast were worth $76,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 904.0% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 254,545 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $10,632,000 after acquiring an additional 229,192 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 752.8% in the 4th quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 83,366 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $3,129,000 after acquiring an additional 73,590 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at $743,681,000. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 43,509 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 3,344 shares during the period. Finally, Robinson Value Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 136.7% in the 4th quarter. Robinson Value Management Ltd. now owns 102,360 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $3,842,000 after acquiring an additional 59,107 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Benchmark dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Comcast Price Performance

Comcast stock opened at $35.95 on Wednesday. Comcast Co. has a 52 week low of $32.50 and a 52 week high of $45.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS 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, equities research analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

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.