Comcast Corporation $CMCSA Stake Lessened by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in shares of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 71.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 742,197 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 1,895,956 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Comcast were worth $16,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 824.4% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,616,490 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $333,509,000 after purchasing an additional 10,359,800 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Comcast during the second quarter worth approximately $185,237,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Comcast during the third quarter worth approximately $135,207,000. Cullen Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the 2nd quarter valued at $129,801,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Comcast by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 40,864,921 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,173,232,000 after purchasing an additional 3,783,234 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $24.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $88.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.85, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $22.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.90. Comcast Corporation has a 52 week low of $20.48 and a 52 week high of $32.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The cable giant reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 14.64% and a net margin of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $29.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Comcast Corporation will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 6th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 6th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.77%.

Comcast News Summary

Investors following CMCSA have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: A valuation analysis argues Comcast could be trading about 43% below fair value, with job cuts part of the context for its assessment. This points to potential upside if investors gain confidence in the company’s cost and growth outlook. Comcast (CMCSA) Stock Could Be 43% Below Fair Value After Job Cuts
• Positive Sentiment: A bullish investor thesis sees a post-Versant reset and stabilizing broadband trends as possible drivers of a valuation re-rating. It also frames Comcast as inexpensive relative to peers, but this is an investor thesis rather than a company announcement. Comcast vs. CHTR and VZ: Can the Post-Versant Reset and Broadband Stabilization Drive a Re-Rating?
• Neutral Sentiment: Taylor Sheridan discussed his move to NBCUniversal and the creative freedom he has earned. The interview highlights talent and content prospects but provided no specific financial guidance. Taylor Sheridan details how he earned creative freedom at NBCUniversal

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CMCSA. Freedom Broker lowered their target price on Comcast from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 26th. KeyCorp cut shares of Comcast from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $18.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Comcast from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Comcast from $29.00 to $27.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.77.

Comcast Profile

Comcast Corporation is a media and telecommunications company whose businesses include broadband, cable television, wireless and voice services, as well as entertainment, news and theme parks. Its Xfinity brand offers residential and business connectivity and entertainment services in the United States. Through NBCUniversal, Comcast operates the NBC broadcast network, cable channels, the Peacock streaming service, Universal Pictures and Universal theme parks. The company also owns Sky, which provides television, broadband and related services in the United Kingdom and other European markets.