Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 806,697 shares of the cable giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,436 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $30,275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 269.9% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $37.59 on Monday. Comcast Co. has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $45.31. 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 company has a market cap of $142.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.06, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $36.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.34.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its 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 return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. Sell-side analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMCSA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America cut Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank lowered shares of Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $44.50 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.83.

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.