Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Acquired by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 44.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 361,774 shares of the cable giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 111,275 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $13,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CMCSA. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC lifted its stake in Comcast by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC now owns 6,086 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter worth about $5,035,000. Sciencast Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Sciencast Management LP now owns 75,498 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $2,833,000 after acquiring an additional 11,674 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 112.4% in the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 38,310 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,438,000 after acquiring an additional 20,272 shares during the period. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter worth about $494,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CMCSA shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America cut shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped 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. Macquarie dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Comcast Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $36.75 on Friday. Comcast Co. has a twelve month low of $32.50 and a twelve month high of $45.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.83 and a 200-day moving average of $39.08. The firm has a market cap of $138.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly 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%. Analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.