abrdn plc Sells 204,655 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

abrdn plc cut its stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,915,109 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 204,655 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Comcast were worth $71,481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CMCSA. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Comcast by 5.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $4,904,647,000 after buying an additional 6,062,658 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 416,759 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings 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 period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its stake in Comcast by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 15,983,230 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $667,620,000 after purchasing an additional 822,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in Comcast by 4.8% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 14,918,501 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $623,146,000 after buying an additional 676,920 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Comcast news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % 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 this link. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the sale, the president now owns 534,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $33.55 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.38 billion, a PE ratio of 8.08, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $38.41 and a 200-day moving average of $40.02. Comcast Co. has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $45.38.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 29.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMCSA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Pivotal Research lifted their target price on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.13.

Comcast 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.