Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC Sells 96,812 Shares of Comcast Corporation $CMCSA

Key Points

• Hardman Johnston Global Advisors reduced its Comcast stake by 19.4%, selling 96,812 shares in Q4 and ending the period with 401,361 shares worth about $11.997 million per its SEC filing.
• Comcast declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share (annualized $1.32) with an ex-dividend date of April 1 and a yield of approximately 4.7%, payable April 22.
• Comcast beat Q4 EPS estimates ($0.84 vs. $0.75) on $32.31 billion in revenue (up 1.2% Y/Y); the stock trades at a P/E of ~5.2 and carries a consensus analyst target of $34.68 with an average "Hold" rating.

Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC decreased its position in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 19.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 401,361 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 96,812 shares during the period. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC's holdings in Comcast were worth $11,997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 80,004 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $2,391,000 after purchasing an additional 12,292 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 56,531 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 9,937 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Comcast by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 11,729,109 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $328,437,000 after acquiring an additional 669,231 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its holdings in Comcast by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 6,570 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Comcast by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 143,259 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $4,282,000 after acquiring an additional 22,917 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of Comcast stock opened at $27.93 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.20. Comcast Corporation has a 12 month low of $25.75 and a 12 month high of $36.66.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The cable giant reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $32.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.35 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 16.17%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Comcast Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Comcast's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CMCSA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Comcast from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $35.25 to $34.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael J. Cavanagh sold 57,947 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.66, for a total value of $1,892,549.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 622,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,325,493.76. The trade was a 8.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company's stock.

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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