MML Investors Services LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 702,029 shares of the cable giant's stock after purchasing an additional 10,473 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Comcast were worth $26,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Comcast in the third quarter valued at about $451,000. Invst LLC lifted its stake in Comcast by 8.4% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 39,839 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,664,000 after purchasing an additional 3,077 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in Comcast by 14.8% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Comcast by 6.4% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,580 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Comcast in the third quarter valued at $1,301,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $33.90. The stock had a trading volume of 29,362,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,851,487. The company has a market cap of $128.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. Comcast Co. has a 1 year low of $31.44 and a 1 year high of $45.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $35.35 and a 200 day moving average of $38.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The cable giant reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.82 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 2nd. This is a boost from Comcast's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. Comcast's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CMCSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Comcast from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $31.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Comcast from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $55.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 price target on Comcast in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.98.

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.