Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Sells 2,683 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC cut its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,001 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 2,683 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $1,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,835,226,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Comcast during the 4th quarter worth about $743,681,000. Amundi grew its stake in Comcast by 147.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 24,086,671 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $895,499,000 after purchasing an additional 14,369,056 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of Comcast by 55,334.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,273,052 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $345,565,000 after purchasing an additional 8,258,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 34,101,077 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,279,813,000 after purchasing an additional 2,270,186 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CMCSA. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their price target on Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.64.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of Comcast stock opened at $36.61 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.88 and a 200-day moving average of $38.94. The company has a market cap of $138.42 billion, a PE ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $32.50 and a 1-year high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is 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.