Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on CMCSA. Benchmark dropped their price objective on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Pivotal Research lifted their price target on Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Comcast currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.13.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of CMCSA opened at $33.55 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.08, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast has a twelve month low of $32.50 and a twelve month high of $45.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. Equities analysts forecast that Comcast will post 4.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Comcast

In other Comcast 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,779,218.91. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 55,334.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,273,052 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $345,565,000 after buying an additional 8,258,128 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $4,904,647,000 after buying an additional 6,062,658 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Comcast by 530.5% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,429,298 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $143,242,000 after purchasing an additional 2,885,370 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 31.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 7,613,977 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $318,036,000 after buying an additional 1,833,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Comcast by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 30,364,136 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,268,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717,762 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.