Allstate Corp Raises Holdings in Comcast Corporation $CMCSA

Key Points

• Allstate Corp nearly doubled its Comcast stake in the fourth quarter, increasing holdings by 97.3% to 263,010 shares valued at about $7.86 million.
• Comcast reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.79 versus estimates of $0.73 and revenue of $31.46 billion versus expectations of $30.42 billion; revenue rose 5.3% year over year.
• The company reaffirmed its dividend appeal with a quarterly payout of $0.33 per share, equal to a 5.2% annualized yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Hold.”

Allstate Corp increased its position in shares of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 97.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 263,010 shares of the cable giant's stock after purchasing an additional 129,683 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in Comcast were worth $7,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Comcast by 46.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 33,706,330 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,059,053,000 after buying an additional 10,633,206 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 180,687,135 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $5,677,190,000 after purchasing an additional 7,917,335 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 2,970.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,394,728 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $221,028,000 after purchasing an additional 7,153,895 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 1,356.2% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 6,556,098 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $205,993,000 after purchasing an additional 6,105,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 554.9% in the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 5,005,158 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $178,634,000 after purchasing an additional 4,240,876 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA opened at $25.15 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $27.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.60. Comcast Corporation has a 12-month low of $24.53 and a 12-month high of $36.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $89.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.95, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.71.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The cable giant reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $31.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.42 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 15.00%.Comcast's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Comcast Corporation will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. Comcast's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CMCSA. Evercore upped their price target on Comcast from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Comcast from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Pivotal Research lowered Comcast from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.79.

Comcast Company Profile

Comcast Corporation NASDAQ: CMCSA is a diversified global media and technology company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its principal operations are organized around Comcast Cable, which provides broadband internet, video, voice and wireless services to residential and business customers in the United States under the Xfinity and Comcast Business brands, and NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment group that develops, produces and distributes content across broadcast and cable networks, film, and streaming platforms.

NBCUniversal's assets include the NBC broadcast network, a portfolio of cable channels, Universal Pictures and other film and television production businesses, and the Peacock streaming service.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CMCSA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.