United Asset Strategies Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

United Asset Strategies Inc. lessened its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,956 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 2,663 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $2,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CMCSA. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 2.4% in the first quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 15,458 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. United Bank increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 37,271 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,745,000 after buying an additional 5,532 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Comcast by 29.6% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,063,697 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $190,261,000 after buying an additional 928,627 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Comcast by 104.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,472 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,773 shares during the period. Finally, First Western Trust Bank acquired a new stake in Comcast during the first quarter worth $482,000. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 114,749 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.10, for a total value of $5,289,928.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Comcast from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. StockNews.com cut Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. BNP Paribas reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.50.

Comcast Stock Performance

NASDAQ CMCSA traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $39.16. 5,851,114 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,498,393. Comcast Co. has a 12-month low of $36.38 and a 12-month high of $47.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.08 and a 200 day moving average of $42.83. The company has a market cap of $155.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

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

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 payout ratio is 33.33%.

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.