Alliancebernstein L.P. Grows Stock Holdings in Comcast Corporation $CMCSA

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Comcast Corporation by 2.2%, acquiring an additional 401,970 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 19.03 million shares valued at $702.3 million.
• Comcast announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.9%, with the payment date scheduled for October 22nd.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a 2.1% increase in revenue year-over-year, with an EPS of $1.25, exceeding analyst estimates.

Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,033,032 shares of the cable giant's stock after buying an additional 401,970 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.51% of Comcast worth $702,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Comcast by 19.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,716,987 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $538,200,000 after buying an additional 2,346,574 shares during the period. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast in the 1st quarter valued at about $270,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Comcast by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 581,776 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $21,468,000 after buying an additional 22,162 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in Comcast in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,609,000. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Comcast by 46.3% in the 1st quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,686 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 5,915 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $33.91. 21,111,306 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,302,668. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Comcast Corporation has a 12 month low of $31.03 and a 12 month high of $45.31. The company has a market cap of $125.20 billion, a PE ratio of 5.60, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.68.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The cable giant reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.07. Comcast had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 18.86%. The business had revenue of $30.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. Comcast's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Comcast Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Comcast's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Comcast in a report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Arete Research upgraded shares of Comcast to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Comcast in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.73.

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.