MSA Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

MSA Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 22,988 shares of the cable giant’s stock, valued at approximately $863,000. Comcast accounts for about 0.2% of MSA Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in Comcast by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 427,120 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $17,841,000 after buying an additional 98,605 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Comcast by 5.1% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,558,230 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $190,397,000 after purchasing an additional 219,976 shares during the last quarter. Cadence Bank lifted its holdings in Comcast by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 162,607 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $6,792,000 after purchasing an additional 2,335 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Comcast by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 400,315 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $16,721,000 after purchasing an additional 15,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC boosted its stake in Comcast by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 7,903 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Comcast Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $37.37 on Thursday. Comcast Co. has a 52 week low of $32.50 and a 52 week high of $45.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $35.87 and its 200-day moving average is $39.02. The firm has a market cap of $141.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68.

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

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CMCSA shares. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group reduced their price target on Comcast from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Ten research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.64.

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.