Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 374,829 shares of the cable giant’s stock after buying an additional 45,196 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $14,067,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 54.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 814 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMCSA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $44.50 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.83.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $35.85 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast Co. has a 52 week low of $32.50 and a 52 week high of $45.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.55 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $36.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.55.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.81%.

Comcast Company 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.