Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $36.15 and last traded at $36.28, with a volume of 13199495 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMCSA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Pivotal Research raised their target price on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.33.

Comcast Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $138.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 EPS 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 return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 11.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast’s payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the transaction, the president now owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at $22,779,218.91. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total transaction of $10,002,234.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CMCSA. One Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Comcast in the 2nd quarter valued at $471,000. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Comcast by 12.7% during the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,035 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 140,102 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $5,486,000 after purchasing an additional 7,322 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 58,078 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $2,274,000 after buying an additional 2,843 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 873,614 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $34,211,000 after buying an additional 41,592 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.