Amundi Grows Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 147.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,086,671 shares of the cable giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,369,056 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned about 0.63% of Comcast worth $895,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CMCSA. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Comcast by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $4,904,647,000 after acquiring an additional 6,062,658 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Comcast by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 32,709,601 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,227,591,000 after acquiring an additional 838,366 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Comcast by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 30,364,136 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,268,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,717,762 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth about $743,681,000. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its stake in Comcast by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 15,983,230 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $667,620,000 after acquiring an additional 822,936 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Stock Up 3.6 %

CMCSA stock opened at $37.59 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $36.12 and a 200-day moving average of $39.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. Comcast Co. has a one year low of $32.50 and a one 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CMCSA shares. Macquarie reduced their price target on Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Comcast Company 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.