Iowa State Bank Lowers Stock Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Iowa State Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,397 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 1,860 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank’s holdings in Comcast were worth $2,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Comcast by 365.4% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 220.3% during the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Comcast

In other news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total transaction 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 $284,539,128.48. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the president now owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA traded up $0.03 on Monday, hitting $37.70. 7,328,272 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,669,895. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $41.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.13, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. Comcast Co. has a one year low of $36.43 and a one year high of $47.11.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $32.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.78 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CMCSA. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Comcast from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Pivotal Research lifted their price objective on Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp raised their price target on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.33.

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.