HM Payson & Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

HM Payson & Co. decreased its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 46,321 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 2,080 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $1,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CMCSA. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Comcast in the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Comcast by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 25,968 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its stake in Comcast by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 1,649 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its stake in Comcast by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 95,192 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $3,976,000 after purchasing an additional 6,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast in the 3rd quarter worth $9,445,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on CMCSA shares. Bank of America cut shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comcast has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.83.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $37.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $142.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.06, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast Co. has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $45.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $36.12 and its 200 day moving average is $39.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s payout ratio is 31.81%.

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.