Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Down 0.5%

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was down 0.5% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $36.92 and last traded at $37.26. Approximately 5,471,755 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 20,044,756 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CMCSA shares. StockNews.com lowered Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Comcast from $47.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.83.

Comcast Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $38.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.61. The firm has a market cap of $144.78 billion, a PE ratio of 9.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The cable giant reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $30.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.83 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 20.10%. Comcast’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 3rd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comcast

In other Comcast news, major shareholder Corp Comcast sold 3,176,923 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.19, for a total value of $10,134,384.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,000,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,380,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CMCSA. Luken Investment Analytics LLC boosted its holdings in Comcast by 258.0% in the first quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 580 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. boosted its holdings in Comcast by 154.6% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 611 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. boosted its holdings in Comcast by 299.1% in the fourth quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 634,727 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 475,675 shares in the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 84.32% of the stock is 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.