Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Grows Stock Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 535,622 shares of the cable giant’s stock after buying an additional 14,230 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $20,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Comcast by 5.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $4,904,647,000 after buying an additional 6,062,658 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,871,235 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,331,192,000 after buying an additional 416,759 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 30,364,136 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,268,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717,762 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its position in shares of Comcast by 5.4% during the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 15,983,230 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $667,620,000 after acquiring an additional 822,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Comcast by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 14,918,501 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $623,146,000 after acquiring an additional 676,920 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on CMCSA shares. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank raised shares of Comcast from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $47.75 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a report on Monday, January 6th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Comcast currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.33.

Comcast Stock Up 0.7 %

CMCSA opened at $36.58 on Tuesday. Comcast Co. has a one year low of $36.15 and a one year high of $47.11. The company has a market cap of $139.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.19. 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 (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $32.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.78 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 11.92%. Comcast’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast’s payout ratio is 33.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.