Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 17,647 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 204,204 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 17,647 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Comcast were worth $7,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 543,863 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $20,411,000 after buying an additional 9,385 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,867,000. Evoke Wealth LLC increased its position in Comcast by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 7,293 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 77,561 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $2,887,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 559,614 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $21,002,000 after purchasing an additional 17,499 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $36.01 on Wednesday. Comcast Co. has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $45.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.15 billion, a PE ratio of 8.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a boost 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Comcast’s payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CMCSA shares. Macquarie lowered their target price on Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.83.

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.