Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Makes New $12.87 Million Investment in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 342,851 shares of the cable giant’s stock, valued at approximately $12,867,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Evoke Wealth LLC increased its position in Comcast by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 7,293 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 77,561 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $2,887,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 559,614 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $21,002,000 after acquiring an additional 17,499 shares during the period. Mystic Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter worth about $271,000. Finally, Argent Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 40,426 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,517,000 after acquiring an additional 1,746 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of Comcast stock opened at $35.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $135.17 billion, a PE ratio of 8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. Comcast Co. has a 1 year low of $32.50 and a 1 year high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is 31.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMCSA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America downgraded Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 target price on Comcast in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities dropped their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

About Comcast

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.