Aviance Capital Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 68,856 shares of the cable giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,556 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $2,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Comcast by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 66,265 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $2,487,000 after acquiring an additional 2,329 shares during the last quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors raised its holdings in Comcast by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 11,882 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 1,302.5% in the 4th quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 87,027 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $3,266,000 after acquiring an additional 80,822 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Comcast by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 54,616 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 12,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Comcast by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 48,767 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,830,000 after buying an additional 1,540 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Stock Performance

Comcast stock opened at $36.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $32.50 and a 1-year high of $45.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $36.13 and its 200 day moving average is $39.37.

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

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. 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 yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CMCSA. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Macquarie decreased their target price on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Comcast presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.83.

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.