Ruffer LLP Takes $1.08 Million Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Ruffer LLP acquired a new position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 28,698 shares of the cable giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,077,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CMCSA. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Comcast in the fourth quarter worth about $743,681,000. Amundi boosted its position in Comcast by 147.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 24,086,671 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $895,499,000 after purchasing an additional 14,369,056 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 55,334.5% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,273,052 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $345,565,000 after buying an additional 8,258,128 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 5.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $4,904,647,000 after purchasing an additional 6,062,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 530.5% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,429,298 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $143,242,000 after purchasing an additional 2,885,370 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on CMCSA shares. StockNews.com upgraded Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.83.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of CMCSA opened at $37.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $142.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $36.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.35. Comcast Co. has a 1 year low of $32.50 and a 1 year high of $45.31.

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

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.