Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Given “Neutral” Rating at Macquarie

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Macquarie in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $42.00 price target on the cable giant’s stock. Macquarie’s price target points to a potential upside of 12.96% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on CMCSA. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com cut Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Comcast from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $48.00 to $45.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.33.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $37.18 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 company has a market cap of $142.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.29. Comcast has a 1-year low of $36.43 and a 1-year high of $47.11.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total transaction of $10,002,234.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 position. 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 institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Comcast by 365.4% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 220.3% during the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.