Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 80,111 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 1,928 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Comcast were worth $3,007,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CMCSA. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 269.9% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Macquarie reduced their target price on Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $48.00 to $44.50 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.08.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $35.72 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.92. 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 market cap of $135.06 billion, a PE ratio of 8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. Comcast Co. has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is 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.