Scharf Investments LLC Sells 1,763,799 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Scharf Investments LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 37.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,992,088 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 1,763,799 shares during the quarter. Comcast makes up about 3.3% of Scharf Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Scharf Investments LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $112,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Comcast by 0.8% during the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,584 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,277,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Comcast by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC now owns 9,125 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Comcast by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,445 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,829 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Saxon Interests Inc. grew its position in Comcast by 2.0% during the third quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 13,554 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $566,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie decreased their price objective on Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Benchmark lowered their price target on shares of Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.00.

Insider Transactions at Comcast

In related news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total transaction of $10,002,234.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at $284,539,128.48. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of Comcast stock opened at $33.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Comcast Co. has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $47.11. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $38.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.11.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.33%.

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.