Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Downgraded to Neutral Rating by Bank of America

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $38.00 price objective on the cable giant’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $50.00. Bank of America‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 14.29% from the company’s previous close.

CMCSA has been the subject of several other reports. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Scotiabank raised shares of Comcast from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $47.75 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered Comcast from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. BNP Paribas raised Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.89.

Comcast Stock Down 11.0 %

CMCSA stock opened at $33.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $127.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Comcast has a 52 week low of $32.50 and a 52 week high of $47.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.15.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comcast

In other news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $10,002,234.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,539,128.48. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the president now 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. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,584 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,277,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Taurus Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Comcast by 2.9% during the third quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC now owns 9,125 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 3.1% in the third quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,445 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Comcast by 4.7% in the third quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,829 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Saxon Interests Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 13,554 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $566,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.