Garland Capital Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Garland Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 5.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 86,105 shares of the cable giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,065 shares during the period. Comcast accounts for 3.0% of Garland Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Garland Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $3,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter worth about $3,835,226,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter worth about $743,681,000. Amundi raised its position in shares of Comcast by 147.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 24,086,671 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $895,499,000 after acquiring an additional 14,369,056 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Comcast by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 141,680,277 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $5,317,167,000 after acquiring an additional 11,255,683 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Comcast by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 50,320,446 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,890,027,000 after acquiring an additional 5,402,377 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Price Performance

Comcast stock opened at $34.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $128.92 billion, a PE ratio of 8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.95. Comcast Corporation has a 52-week low of $31.44 and a 52-week high of $45.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company’s 50 day moving average is $34.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.86.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The cable giant reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 19.70%. The business had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Comcast Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CMCSA shares. Argus downgraded shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group set a $44.50 price target on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Comcast from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.10.

Comcast 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.