Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 51,259 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 27.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 235,561 shares of the cable giant's stock after purchasing an additional 51,259 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Comcast were worth $8,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Comcast by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,396 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 18,481 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $693,000 after acquiring an additional 3,900 shares during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida increased its position in shares of Comcast by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 22,724 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank raised its stake in Comcast by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 20,690 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Comcast Stock Performance

CMCSA traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $34.39. 25,154,055 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,846,874. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.97. Comcast Co. has a 52-week low of $31.44 and a 52-week high of $45.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company's fifty day moving average price is $35.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.68.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The cable giant reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.82 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CMCSA. Barclays cut their target price on Comcast from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Argus lowered shares of Comcast from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America downgraded Comcast from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.10.

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.