1,895,956 Comcast Corporation $CMCSA Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Key Points

• Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its Comcast stake by 71.9% in the third quarter, selling 1,895,956 shares and retaining 742,197 shares valued at about $16.15 million.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $28.77; opinions are divided among 10 Buy, 11 Hold, and 6 Sell ratings.
• Comcast beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $1.07 and revenue of $29.30 billion, though revenue fell 6.1% year over year. Its quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share equates to an indicated yield of 5.3%.

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its holdings in shares of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 71.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. 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 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Comcast by 2.6% in the third quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,808,465 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $39,352,000 after buying an additional 45,016 shares during the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 74.2% in the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,519 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 865.6% during the third quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 284,938 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $6,155,000 after purchasing an additional 255,430 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Comcast by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 236,792 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $5,138,000 after buying an additional 24,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Comcast by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 201,679 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $4,389,000 after buying an additional 8,607 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CMCSA shares. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down from $37.00) on shares of Comcast in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Zacks Research downgraded Comcast from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $23.00 price target on shares of Comcast and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Comcast from $29.00 to $27.50 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.77.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $24.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $88.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.85, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.72. The company's 50-day moving average price is $22.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.90. Comcast Corporation has a 52 week low of $20.48 and a 52 week high of $32.85.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The cable giant reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 14.64%. The business had revenue of $29.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Comcast Corporation will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 6th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 6th. Comcast's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.77%.

Key Headlines Impacting Comcast

These are some of the CMCSA headlines that stood out recently:

• 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
• Neutral Sentiment: Comcast shares rose Wednesday but underperformed the broader market, indicating a weaker relative performance despite the gain. Comcast stock rises Wednesday, still underperforms market
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street analysts reportedly rate the stock “Hold,” reflecting a wait-and-see stance rather than a clear consensus on near-term upside. Comcast Stock Now Rated Hold by Wall Street Analysts

Comcast Company 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.

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