Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Sold by Sandy Spring Bank

Sandy Spring Bank lessened its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 47.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 35,480 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 32,369 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Comcast were worth $1,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Comcast by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,165,713 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $81,279,000 after purchasing an additional 14,590 shares during the period. Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at about $207,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of Comcast by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 224,645 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $7,925,000 after purchasing an additional 46,700 shares during the period. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC grew its position in shares of Comcast by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC now owns 65,556 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $2,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,693 shares during the period. Finally, Stokes Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Comcast by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 34,535 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 10,141 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMCSA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.83.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $36.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $138.01 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast Co. has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $45.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.10.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued 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 net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s payout ratio is presently 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.