Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Increases Stock Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 27.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,551 shares of the cable giant’s stock after buying an additional 3,362 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Comcast were worth $584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Taurus Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 2.9% during the third quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC now owns 9,125 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Comcast by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,829 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 27,211 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 14.8% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. Finally, Mengis Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Comcast by 1.5% in the third quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,060 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $796,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Comcast

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMCSA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank lowered shares of Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $44.50 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Nine 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.13.

Comcast Stock Performance

CMCSA stock opened at $36.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.58. Comcast Co. has a 52 week low of $32.50 and a 52 week high of $45.31. The stock has a market cap of $137.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.00. 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 (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. Research analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.88%.

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.