LPL Financial LLC Purchases 25,519 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,304,250 shares of the cable giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,519 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.08% of Comcast worth $129,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its holdings in Comcast by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 15,613 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 71.7% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 50,539 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $2,451,000 after acquiring an additional 21,112 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $800,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Comcast by 54.8% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,592 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 13,663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Comcast by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,317 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $39.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.33 and a 200-day moving average of $39.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.40, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.01. Comcast Co. has a fifty-two week low of $36.43 and a fifty-two week high of $47.11.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The cable giant reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Comcast had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 12.46%. The firm had revenue of $29.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Comcast from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Comcast in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.78.

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.