Howe & Rusling Inc. Sells 1,561 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Howe & Rusling Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,944 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 1,561 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Comcast by 904.0% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 254,545 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $10,632,000 after buying an additional 229,192 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at about $743,681,000. Bfsg LLC raised its position in Comcast by 752.8% during the 4th quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 83,366 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $3,129,000 after purchasing an additional 73,590 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 43,509 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after buying an additional 3,344 shares during the period. Finally, Robinson Value Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Comcast by 136.7% during the fourth quarter. Robinson Value Management Ltd. now owns 102,360 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $3,842,000 after acquiring an additional 59,107 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of CMCSA opened at $37.37 on Friday. Comcast Co. has a twelve month low of $32.50 and a twelve month high of $45.31. The company has a market capitalization of $141.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.89 and a 200 day moving average of $39.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMCSA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank cut shares of Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $48.00 to $44.50 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays reduced their target price on Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.64.

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.