Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Bought by Argent Advisors Inc.

Argent Advisors Inc. raised its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 40,426 shares of the cable giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,746 shares during the quarter. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $1,517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CMCSA. Taurus Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 2.9% during the third quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC now owns 9,125 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in Comcast by 14.8% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Comcast by 54.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 814 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC increased its position in Comcast by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Five Oceans Advisors increased its position in Comcast by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 12,336 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $35.75 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $135.17 billion, a PE ratio of 8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast Co. has a twelve month low of $32.50 and a twelve month high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is 31.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on CMCSA shares. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.83.

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.