102,190,930 Shares in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Bought by Norges Bank

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 102,190,930 shares of the cable giant’s stock, valued at approximately $3,835,226,000. Comcast comprises about 0.5% of Norges Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Norges Bank owned 2.70% of Comcast as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Comcast by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 34,101,077 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,279,813,000 after purchasing an additional 2,270,186 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 32,709,601 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,227,591,000 after purchasing an additional 838,366 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Comcast by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 30,364,136 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,268,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717,762 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in Comcast by 147.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 24,086,671 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $895,499,000 after purchasing an additional 14,369,056 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth approximately $743,681,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA opened at $37.37 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Comcast Co. has a one year low of $32.50 and a one year high of $45.31. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $35.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.02. The company has a market capitalization of $141.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Comcast Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark decreased their target price on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Macquarie dropped their price target on Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.64.

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.