Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Sells 7,166 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 435,488 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 7,166 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $16,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised 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 during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Comcast in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Comcast in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Up 0.2 %

CMCSA stock opened at $36.09 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.70, a PEG ratio of 1.78 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 Co. has a one year low of $32.50 and a one year high of $45.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.11.

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 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMCSA has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI raised Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Benchmark dropped their target price on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America lowered Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Comcast currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.83.

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.