Teacher Retirement System of Texas Increases Stock Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,542,535 shares of the cable giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 346,289 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Comcast were worth $95,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CMCSA. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 269.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Comcast during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Comcast stock opened at $36.09 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.11. The company has a market cap of $136.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.70, 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.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts anticipate 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 dividend of $0.33 per share. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CMCSA shares. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America lowered shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.83.

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.