Sanctuary Advisors LLC Sells 79,378 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 684,406 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 79,378 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $25,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CMCSA. Taurus Asset Management LLC increased its position in Comcast by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC now owns 9,125 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Comcast by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,829 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 27,211 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,137,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 14.8% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Finally, Mengis Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Comcast by 1.5% in the third quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,060 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $796,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Comcast

In other news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,779,218.91. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at $284,539,128.48. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CMCSA shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Nine equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.13.

Comcast Stock Up 0.0 %

CMCSA stock opened at $35.39 on Tuesday. Comcast Co. has a 52 week low of $32.50 and a 52 week high of $45.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.70. The company has a market cap of $133.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted 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 expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Comcast’s payout ratio is 29.88%.

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.