Securian Asset Management Inc. Trims Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 205,152 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 8,507 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $7,699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Comcast by 904.0% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 254,545 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $10,632,000 after acquiring an additional 229,192 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 752.8% in the 4th quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 83,366 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $3,129,000 after acquiring an additional 73,590 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter worth approximately $743,681,000. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in Comcast by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 43,509 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 3,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robinson Value Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Comcast by 136.7% during the fourth quarter. Robinson Value Management Ltd. now owns 102,360 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $3,842,000 after purchasing an additional 59,107 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMCSA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America lowered shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.83.

Comcast Price Performance

NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $35.95 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comcast Co. has a 12-month low of $32.50 and a 12-month high of $45.31. The company has a market capitalization of $135.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $36.07 and its 200-day moving average is $39.29.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted 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 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 given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s payout ratio is 31.81%.

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.