Howland Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Howland Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,113 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 923 shares during the quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Visionary Horizons LLC boosted its stake in Comcast by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Visionary Horizons LLC now owns 14,237 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 36,159 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after buying an additional 1,332 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 147.4% during the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 112,429 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $4,204,000 after buying an additional 66,989 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,156,000. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 169,417 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $6,358,000 after buying an additional 10,892 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $34.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $129.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.28, a P/E/G 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. Comcast Co. has a fifty-two week low of $32.50 and a fifty-two week high of $45.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.86.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. Analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 29.88%.

Insider Transactions at Comcast

In related news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMCSA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America cut shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target 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. Finally, Macquarie dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.13.

About Comcast

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.