Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 65,939 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 734,261 shares of the cable giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,939 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $30,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comcast during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 204.7% in the second quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 365.4% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp raised its stake in Comcast by 177.1% during the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 812 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $43.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $36.43 and a 1-year high of $47.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.98 and a 200 day moving average of $40.04. The firm has a market cap of $166.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 11.92%. The company had revenue of $32.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Comcast’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CMCSA. Scotiabank raised shares of Comcast from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $47.75 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Macquarie boosted their target price on Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.19.

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.