LVW Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

LVW Advisors LLC increased its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,970 shares of the cable giant’s stock after buying an additional 4,211 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $1,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 5.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,331,192,000 after purchasing an additional 416,759 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Comcast by 6.0% during the 3rd 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 valued at $1,268,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,717,762 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its holdings in Comcast by 5.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 822,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in Comcast by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 14,918,501 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $623,146,000 after purchasing an additional 676,920 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of Comcast stock opened at $36.58 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.18. Comcast Co. has a 52 week low of $36.15 and a 52 week high of $47.11. The company has a market capitalization of $139.97 billion, a PE ratio of 9.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $32.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.78 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CMCSA. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Comcast has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. 1.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.