Hills Bank & Trust Co Reduces Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Hills Bank & Trust Co lessened its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 71,001 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 415 shares during the quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Comcast were worth $2,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 269.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CMCSA shares. Benchmark lowered 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 decreased their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.83.

Comcast Price Performance

NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $35.43 on Friday. Comcast Co. has a 52 week low of $32.50 and a 52 week high of $45.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $133.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $35.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.20.

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

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

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.