6,204 Shares in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Bought by Vertex Planning Partners LLC

Vertex Planning Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,204 shares of the cable giant’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CMCSA. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Comcast by 904.0% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 254,545 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $10,632,000 after purchasing an additional 229,192 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $743,681,000. Bfsg LLC raised its holdings in shares of Comcast by 752.8% during the fourth quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 83,366 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $3,129,000 after acquiring an additional 73,590 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in Comcast by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 43,509 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 3,344 shares during the period. Finally, Robinson Value Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Comcast by 136.7% in the fourth quarter. Robinson Value Management Ltd. now owns 102,360 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $3,842,000 after acquiring an additional 59,107 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMCSA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America lowered Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 price target on Comcast in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $44.50 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.64.

Comcast Price Performance

Comcast stock opened at $37.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $141.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.00, 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 quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.89 and a 200 day moving average of $39.01. Comcast Co. has a one year low of $32.50 and a one year high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

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.