Brokerages Set Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Target Price at $47.39

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $47.33.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 4th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research report on Monday. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley downgraded Comcast from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $45.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Insider Transactions at Comcast

In related news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was 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 directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the 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 transaction, the president now owns 534,849 shares in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Comcast by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,584 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,277,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Comcast by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC now owns 9,125 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Comcast by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,445 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Comcast by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,829 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 2.7% in the second quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,754 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Performance

NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $37.17 on Friday. Comcast has a 1 year low of $36.24 and a 1 year high of $47.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.25.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 11.92%. The company had revenue of $32.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect 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. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

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.