Financial Counselors Inc. Reduces Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Financial Counselors Inc. cut its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,852 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 1,476 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $1,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in Comcast by 14.8% during 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 last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Comcast by 54.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 814 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its position in Comcast by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Five Oceans Advisors boosted its stake in Comcast by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 12,336 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 26,470 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $993,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CMCSA shares. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $44.50 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America lowered shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.64.

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA opened at $37.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $141.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast Co. has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $45.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.01.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. On average, research analysts expect 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 paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

Comcast 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.