Comcast Corporation $CMCSA Stock: Vontobel Holding Ltd. Lowers Holdings

Key Points

• Vontobel Holding reduced its Comcast stake by 12.6% in the third quarter, selling 253,473 shares and retaining approximately $38.2 million worth of stock. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 84.32% of Comcast.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with 11 Buy, 13 Hold, and 5 Sell ratings; the consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $30.81.
• Comcast shares rose 0.6% to $21.90, while the company reported quarterly earnings and revenue above expectations and announced a $0.33 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 6.0% annualized yield.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 12.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,753,396 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 253,473 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Comcast were worth $38,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Comcast by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 43,332,228 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $1,295,200,000 after acquiring an additional 3,952,642 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Comcast by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 40,864,921 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,173,232,000 after acquiring an additional 3,783,234 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Comcast by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,461,308 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $845,919,000 after acquiring an additional 507,097 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Comcast by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 15,677,870 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $468,612,000 after acquiring an additional 2,573,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Comcast by 43.4% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 13,797,091 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $404,414,000 after purchasing an additional 4,175,418 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on CMCSA shares. Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Comcast in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective (down from $37.00) on shares of Comcast in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $23.00 target price on Comcast and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Comcast from $30.00 to $27.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Comcast from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the company from $34.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.81.

Comcast Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of CMCSA traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.90. 29,589,305 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 32,739,894. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.84. Comcast Corporation has a 52 week low of $20.48 and a 52 week high of $32.85. The company has a market cap of $77.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.09, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.68.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The cable giant reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.07. Comcast had a net margin of 8.97% and a return on equity of 14.77%. The business had revenue of $29.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Comcast Corporation will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 7th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 7th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. Comcast's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.72%.

Comcast Company Profile

Comcast Corporation NASDAQ: CMCSA is a global media and communications company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its businesses include broadband internet, wireless services, video, voice, and business connectivity services, primarily marketed under the Xfinity brand in the United States. Comcast also provides advertising and related technology services to businesses and media organizations.

Through NBCUniversal, Comcast operates national and local television networks, broadcast network NBC, Spanish-language network Telemundo, the Peacock streaming service, and a portfolio of film and television production businesses.

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