Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,867 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 616 shares during the period. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Taurus Asset Management LLC grew its position in Comcast by 2.9% in the third quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC now owns 9,125 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 4.7% during the third quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,829 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Arvest Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 1.0% during the third quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 27,211 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 14.8% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Finally, Mengis Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 1.5% during the third quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,060 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $796,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of CMCSA opened at $35.39 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.81 billion, a PE ratio of 8.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $32.50 and a 1-year high of $45.31. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $37.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.76.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CMCSA. Pivotal Research boosted their target price on Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comcast has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comcast

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

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.