Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Lowered to Equal Weight Rating by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $45.00 price target on the cable giant’s stock, down from their previous price target of $48.00.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Comcast from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Comcast has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.06.

Comcast Trading Down 2.7 %

NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $38.86 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.27 and its 200-day moving average is $40.35. Comcast has a one year low of $36.43 and a one year high of $47.11. The firm has a market cap of $148.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is 33.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comcast

In other Comcast news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $1,087,620.83. Following the sale, the president now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 6,669,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,539,128.48. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Comcast by 5.4% in 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 2.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 38,329,384 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,500,722,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,626 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Comcast by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,871,235 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,331,192,000 after purchasing an additional 416,759 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $1,268,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 15,983,230 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $667,620,000 after purchasing an additional 822,936 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.