Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Receives $47.33 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.13.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CMCSA shares. Pivotal Research upped their price objective on Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the business’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 sale, the president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Regal Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Comcast by 8.5% in the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,809 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the period. Farmers National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Comcast by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 117,941 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $4,619,000 after buying an additional 2,505 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Comcast during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $68,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Comcast in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,278,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast during the second quarter valued at approximately $952,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $33.94 on Thursday. Comcast has a fifty-two week low of $32.50 and a fifty-two week high of $45.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.97. The company has a market cap of $129.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.18, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Comcast will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. 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 29.88%.

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.