Leavell Investment Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,279 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 4,284 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 269.9% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Comcast by 365.4% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Comcast by 220.3% during the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA opened at $35.38 on Friday. Comcast Co. has a 1 year low of $32.50 and a 1 year high of $45.31. The company has a market cap of $133.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $37.23 and a 200-day moving average of $39.79.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 29.88%.

Insider Activity at Comcast

In other Comcast news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $1,087,620.83. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. This trade represents a 4.56 % 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Pivotal Research raised their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Evercore ISI raised shares of Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded shares of Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $44.50 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.13.

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.