Violich Capital Management Inc. Sells 3,868 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Violich Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,730 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 3,868 shares during the period. Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $2,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 365.4% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Comcast in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 220.3% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of CMCSA opened at $34.47 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $130.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.31, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $32.50 and a 1-year high of $45.31. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 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 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Macquarie reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Pivotal Research lifted their price objective on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total transaction of $10,002,234.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,539,128.48. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the company’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 sale, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,779,218.91. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.