Palouse Capital Management Inc. Decreases Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Palouse Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,770 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 585 shares during the quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $1,612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at $2,056,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Comcast by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 11,304,304 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $495,694,000 after purchasing an additional 368,685 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 4.5% in the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,027 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 8.9% in the second quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 191,846 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $7,513,000 after purchasing an additional 15,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 15,613 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $39.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.24 billion, a PE ratio of 10.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.01. Comcast Co. has a fifty-two week low of $36.43 and a fifty-two week high of $47.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $39.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.67.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The cable giant reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. Comcast had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 20.17%. The firm had revenue of $29.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CMCSA shares. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Comcast in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.78.

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.