Conning Inc. Has $34 Million Stock Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Conning Inc. lessened its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 905,875 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 85,897 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $33,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Comcast by 269.9% in the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 365.4% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 220.3% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 54.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 814 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $34.37 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.89. The firm has a market cap of $131.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.28, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.68. Comcast Co. has a 52-week low of $32.50 and a 52-week high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its earnings results 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 forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 29.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMCSA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Macquarie decreased their price target on Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America cut Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp increased their price target on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup cut their target price on Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two 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 $44.13.

Insider Activity

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

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.