Comcast Corporation $CMCSA Shares Sold by Conning Inc.

Key Points

• Conning Inc. sharply reduced its Comcast stake by 94.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 944,884 shares and leaving it with 54,337 shares valued at about $1.62 million.
• Comcast’s latest earnings topped expectations, with EPS of $0.79 versus $0.73 expected and revenue of $31.46 billion versus $30.42 billion estimated. Quarterly revenue rose 5.3% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 5.3%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $34.79.

Conning Inc. cut its stake in shares of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 94.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,337 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 944,884 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.'s holdings in Comcast were worth $1,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Cora Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,013 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. FSA Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Comcast by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. FSA Advisors Inc. now owns 7,203 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its stake in Comcast by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 5,479 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC grew its stake in Comcast by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 2,801 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First National Trust Co grew its stake in Comcast by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 47,047 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMCSA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research note on Friday, January 30th. New Street Research lowered their price objective on shares of Comcast from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Comcast from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $34.79.

Comcast Price Performance

NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $24.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $88.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.71. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $28.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.74. Comcast Corporation has a 12-month low of $24.53 and a 12-month high of $36.66.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last released its 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 net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. Research analysts expect that Comcast Corporation will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. Comcast's dividend payout ratio is 25.98%.

More Comcast News

Here are the key news stories impacting Comcast this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Comcast declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, reinforcing its income appeal and signaling management confidence in cash flow. Comcast Declares Quarterly Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Comcast as one of the better-positioned names in a challenging cable industry, citing growing demand for high-speed internet and stronger media consumption as cord-cutting shifts the market toward broadband. 2 Stocks to Watch From a Challenging Cable Television Industry
• Positive Sentiment: Comcast continues expanding rural broadband access in Florida and Indiana through public-private partnerships, which supports long-term subscriber growth and reinforces the company’s core connectivity business. What Comcast (CMCSA)'s Dividend, Rural Broadband Push and Legal Settlement Means For Shareholders
• Neutral Sentiment: Comcast’s Sky unit is reportedly advancing talks to acquire ITV’s media and entertainment business, a deal that could be strategic but is still early and may require a performance-based payout structure. Comcast's Sky advances talks to acquire ITV unit with performance-based payout, sources say
• Negative Sentiment: Investor sentiment remains weighed down by Comcast’s $117.5 million data-breach settlement, which keeps cybersecurity, legal liability, and reputation risks in focus. Comcast’s US$117.5m Breach Settlement Puts Data Security Risks In Focus
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage also notes Comcast hit a new 12-month low after an analyst downgrade, underscoring ongoing concern about growth, competition, and margin pressure. Comcast NASDAQ: CMCSA Reaches New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

About Comcast

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.

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