Vest Financial LLC Buys 6,214 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Vest Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 19.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 38,937 shares of the cable giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,214 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $1,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Comcast by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,584 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,277,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Taurus Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Comcast by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC now owns 9,125 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Comcast by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,445 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,829 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Arvest Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Comcast by 1.0% during the third quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 27,211 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,137,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $34.37 on Friday. Comcast Co. has a one year low of $32.50 and a one year high of $45.31. The stock has a market cap of $129.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $37.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.86. 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 (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CMCSA. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI raised Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Pivotal Research boosted their target price on Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas raised shares of Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $1,087,620.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, 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 hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total transaction 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. This 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 corporate 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.