Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 1,126,862 Shares of Comcast Corporation $CMCSA

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. has significantly reduced its holdings in Comcast Corporation by 60.2%, now owning 745,479 shares worth approximately $27.5 million after selling over a million shares during the first quarter.
• Several large investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and AQR Capital Management LLC, have increased their stakes in Comcast, with Brighton Jones increasing its holdings by 150.9%.
• Comcast's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.25, exceeding analysts' estimates, while the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, equating to a 3.9% yield.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lessened its stake in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 60.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 745,479 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 1,126,862 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in Comcast were worth $27,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CMCSA. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 150.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 166,265 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $6,240,000 after purchasing an additional 99,986 shares during the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 91,055 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $3,417,000 after acquiring an additional 5,112 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,344,356 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $200,574,000 after acquiring an additional 786,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,370,413 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $463,767,000 after acquiring an additional 2,585,178 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CMCSA shares. Moffett Nathanson lifted their target price on shares of Comcast from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Comcast to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Comcast in a report on Friday, July 18th. One equities research 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.73.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $33.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,719,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,455,062. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $34.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.74. Comcast Corporation has a one year low of $31.03 and a one year high of $45.31. The company has a market cap of $125.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.92.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last released 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 previous year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Comcast Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued 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 dividend yield of 3.9%. Comcast's payout ratio is currently 21.82%.

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.