Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. lowered its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 131,318 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 8,240 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $4,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors increased its position in Comcast by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 141,680,277 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $5,317,167,000 after purchasing an additional 11,255,683 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,835,226,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Comcast by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 85,812,139 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $3,212,244,000 after buying an additional 1,006,272 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in Comcast by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 79,102,667 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $2,968,723,000 after buying an additional 5,039,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Comcast by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,175,969 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,695,454,000 after acquiring an additional 4,669,069 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Trading Up 1.2 %

Comcast stock opened at $33.96 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.32. Comcast Co. has a 52-week low of $32.20 and a 52-week high of $45.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $128.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS 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%. Analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. Comcast’s payout ratio is 31.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMCSA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 price objective on Comcast in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Macquarie decreased their target price on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.50.

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.