Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 800,359 shares of the cable giant’s stock after buying an additional 34,903 shares during the period. Comcast accounts for 0.5% of Empowered Funds LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $33,431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. 1ST Source Bank grew its position in Comcast by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 24,590 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. increased its position in Comcast by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 235,642 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $10,215,000 after buying an additional 982 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Comcast in the 1st quarter worth approximately $88,223,000. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Comcast in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,238,000. Finally, Councilmark Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Comcast during the first quarter valued at $1,185,000. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $43.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $36.43 and a 1-year high of $47.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $41.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.82.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The company had revenue of $32.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Comcast’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CMCSA shares. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Pivotal Research boosted their target price on Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Comcast from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $47.75 to $48.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.75.

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.