Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Price Target Cut to $53.00 by Analysts at Loop Capital

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) had its price target trimmed by Loop Capital from $54.00 to $53.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the cable giant’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on CMCSA. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Comcast from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Comcast has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.39.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $37.42 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $143.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.99. Comcast has a 1 year low of $36.43 and a 1 year high of $47.11.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $32.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.78 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Comcast will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were 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 $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the president now owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the third quarter valued at $30,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 365.4% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 220.3% during the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp raised its position in Comcast by 177.1% during the second quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 812 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

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.