Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Stock Position Boosted by Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,182 shares of the cable giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,486 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $4,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Comcast by 94.1% in the 3rd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 623 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. lifted its holdings in Comcast by 299.1% in the 4th quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 634,727 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 475,675 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in Comcast in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comcast

In other news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 114,749 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.10, for a total value of $5,289,928.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:CMCSA traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.17. The stock had a trading volume of 12,199,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,569,959. Comcast Co. has a fifty-two week low of $36.38 and a fifty-two week high of $47.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $42.08 and its 200 day moving average is $42.83. The stock has a market cap of $155.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.60, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.98.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The cable giant reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.04. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 12.66%. The company had revenue of $31.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.41 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 2nd. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on CMCSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. BNP Paribas reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Comcast from $55.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.50.

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.