Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Lowered to Sector Perform Rating by Scotiabank

Scotiabank downgraded shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSAFree Report) from a sector outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $44.50 target price on the cable giant’s stock, down from their prior target price of $48.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on CMCSA. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Pivotal Research boosted their price objective on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.13.

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Comcast Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $33.19 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.00 billion, a PE ratio of 8.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $45.38.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSAGet Free Report) last announced its 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%. Equities analysts expect that Comcast will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company 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 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.88%.

Insider Activity at Comcast

In other news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $10,002,234.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the sale, the president now owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Comcast

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Comcast by 269.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Comcast during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Comcast by 365.4% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Comcast in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Company Profile

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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.

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