Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 125,859 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,597,135 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 125,859 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $59,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CMCSA. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,835,226,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Comcast by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 34,101,077 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,279,813,000 after purchasing an additional 2,270,186 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Comcast by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 32,709,601 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,227,591,000 after purchasing an additional 838,366 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 147.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 24,086,671 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $895,499,000 after purchasing an additional 14,369,056 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at about $743,681,000. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast Stock Down 2.0 %

CMCSA stock opened at $36.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $138.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast Co. has a 52 week low of $32.50 and a 52 week high of $45.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.99.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS 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 is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CMCSA has been the topic of several research reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Macquarie reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank cut shares of Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $44.50 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BNP Paribas upgraded Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Ten 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.64.

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.