Comcast Corporation $CMCSA Shares Sold by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Key Points

• Gamco Investors INC. ET AL reduced its stake in Comcast Corporation by 9.3%, selling 47,191 shares and now holding 459,737 shares worth approximately $16.96 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC and Dodge & Cox, have significantly increased their positions in Comcast, reflecting a high level of investment interest in the company.
• Analysts have mixed views on Comcast, with recent price target adjustments indicating potential price declines; the consensus rating is currently a "Hold" with a target price of $40.73.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lessened its position in shares of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 459,737 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 47,191 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in Comcast were worth $16,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $940,015,000. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 94,217,741 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $3,476,635,000 after purchasing an additional 15,115,074 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 1,959.3% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,228,732 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $488,140,000 after purchasing an additional 12,586,329 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 724.7% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 10,160,649 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $374,927,000 after purchasing an additional 8,928,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 12.0% in the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMCSA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Comcast in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Comcast in a research note on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Comcast from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Comcast from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Comcast from $44.50 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.73.

Comcast Price Performance

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

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.07. Comcast had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 18.44%.The company had revenue of $30.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Comcast Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

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 issued 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 21.82%.

About Comcast

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.