Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Purchased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 806,697 shares of the cable giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 72,436 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $30,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Comcast by 269.9% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMCSA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas raised shares of Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie cut their price objective on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.83.

Comcast Stock Performance

NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $37.59 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $32.50 and a 1-year high of $45.31. The company has a market cap 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.34.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) 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 net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

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.