Comcast Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 64,398 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 81% compared to the average volume of 35,626 call options.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of CMCSA opened at $27.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $99.95 billion, a PE ratio of 4.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.83. Comcast has a 52-week low of $25.75 and a 52-week high of $43.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $28.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.18.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 13th. The cable giant reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter. Comcast had a net margin of 18.33% and a return on equity of 18.06%. The company had revenue of $30.34 billion during the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 14th. Comcast’s payout ratio is 21.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMCSA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Comcast from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Comcast from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen cut their target price on Comcast from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.82.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Comcast by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 369,438,921 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $13,185,275,000 after buying an additional 1,257,196 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Comcast by 4.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 180,687,135 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $5,677,190,000 after acquiring an additional 7,917,335 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in Comcast by 1.2% in the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 112,567,918 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $3,536,884,000 after acquiring an additional 1,295,598 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Comcast during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,528,361,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Comcast by 7.5% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,154,170 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,289,984,000 after purchasing an additional 2,517,906 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

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.