Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Reduces Holdings in Comcast Corporation $CMCSA

Key Points

• Farmers & Merchants Investments cut its Comcast stake by 47.3% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 204,658 shares valued at about $6.1 million.
• Comcast reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.79 per share versus $0.73 expected, along with revenue of $31.46 billion, up 5.3% year over year.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: Comcast has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $34.94, even after some recent target increases.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 47.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 204,658 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 183,780 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in Comcast were worth $6,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Comcast by 212.6% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,016 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the period. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $25.39 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Comcast Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $25.35 and a fifty-two week high of $36.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.93. The company has a market cap of $90.71 billion, a PE ratio of 5.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Comcast

In related news, CEO Michael J. Cavanagh sold 57,947 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.66, for a total transaction of $1,892,549.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 622,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,325,493.76. This represents a 8.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMCSA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Comcast from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Comcast to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Comcast from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Comcast from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.94.

Comcast 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.

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