Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Sold by Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI cut its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 427,884 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 29,121 shares during the quarter. Comcast makes up 1.3% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Comcast were worth $16,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Taurus Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Comcast by 2.9% during the third quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC now owns 9,125 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 1.0% during the third quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 27,211 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in Comcast by 14.8% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Mengis Capital Management Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 54.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 814 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CMCSA. Bank of America lowered shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA opened at $37.59 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.12 and a 200-day moving average of $39.35. Comcast Co. has a one year low of $32.50 and a one year high of $45.31. The company has a market cap of $142.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.