Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Cut to Neutral at Bank of America

Bank of America lowered shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $38.00 target price on the cable giant’s stock, down from their prior target price of $50.00.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley downgraded Comcast from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $48.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Comcast from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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, January 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comcast presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.00.

Comcast Price Performance

NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $33.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $128.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $38.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.07. Comcast has a fifty-two week low of $32.50 and a fifty-two week high of $47.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 11.92%. On average, analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

Insider Activity at Comcast

In other Comcast news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at $284,539,128.48. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,087,620.83. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Comcast by 77.2% during the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 14,182 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 6,179 shares in the last quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. raised its position in shares of Comcast by 4.6% during the third quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 14,581 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $609,000 after acquiring an additional 645 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 18.9% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 832,594 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $34,810,000 after acquiring an additional 132,442 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Comcast by 5.5% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 786,946 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $32,871,000 after acquiring an additional 41,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 211.7% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,890,571 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $120,739,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,246 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

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.