Magnetar Financial LLC Cuts Stock Position in Comcast Corporation $CMCSA

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC has significantly reduced its stake in Comcast by 82.4%, selling 129,503 shares and now holding only 27,632 shares worth approximately $1 million.
• Comcast recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33, with a scheduled payment date of October 22, providing a dividend yield of 3.9%.
• Analysts have varying ratings for Comcast, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.73, reflecting a mix of investment opinions.

Magnetar Financial LLC trimmed its stake in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 82.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,632 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 129,503 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC's holdings in Comcast were worth $1,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in Comcast by 19.1% in the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 94,217,741 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $3,476,635,000 after buying an additional 15,115,074 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Comcast by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 50,320,446 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,890,027,000 after purchasing an additional 5,402,377 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Comcast by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 35,356,027 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,326,912,000 after purchasing an additional 4,991,891 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Comcast by 2.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 33,636,264 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $1,240,955,000 after acquiring an additional 926,663 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in Comcast by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 26,055,944 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $977,880,000 after acquiring an additional 497,829 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Argus cut Comcast from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Comcast in a report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Comcast in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Comcast from $44.50 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Comcast from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comcast presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.73.

Comcast Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of CMCSA stock traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $33.89. The company had a trading volume of 17,907,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,061,951. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $125.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.72. Comcast Corporation has a 12 month low of $31.03 and a 12 month high of $45.31.

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

Comcast Dividend Announcement

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

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.