Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Sold by ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 292,525 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 48,123 shares during the quarter. Comcast accounts for approximately 1.2% of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s holdings in Comcast were worth $10,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CMCSA. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Comcast by 5.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $4,904,647,000 after acquiring an additional 6,062,658 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Comcast by 1.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,871,235 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,331,192,000 after acquiring an additional 416,759 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Comcast by 6.0% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 1,717,762 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in Comcast by 5.4% during the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 15,983,230 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $667,620,000 after acquiring an additional 822,936 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Comcast by 4.8% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 14,918,501 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $623,146,000 after acquiring an additional 676,920 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $36.35 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.64. 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 twelve month low of $32.50 and a twelve month high of $45.31. The company has a market capitalization of $137.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.76, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CMCSA shares. Evercore ISI raised Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Benchmark dropped their price target on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America cut Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Comcast presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.13.

Insider Activity at Comcast

In other Comcast news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $10,002,234.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.