Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Comcast by 2.2%, selling 37,112 shares and now holding approximately 1.68 million shares worth about $62 million.
• Multiple analysts have recently lowered their price targets for Comcast stock, with UBS Group cutting its target from $40 to $36, while consensus rating remains a "Hold" with a target price of $40.73.
• Comcast announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33, which will be paid on October 22, representing an annualized yield of 4.0%.

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,680,650 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 37,112 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Comcast were worth $62,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in Comcast during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC increased its position in Comcast by 126.9% during the first quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 801 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in Comcast by 203.4% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 895 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on CMCSA shares. Argus lowered shares of Comcast from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $55.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.73.

Comcast Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of CMCSA stock traded up $0.55 on Friday, hitting $33.45. The stock had a trading volume of 20,700,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,292,310. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.92. The stock's 50 day moving average is $34.36 and its 200-day moving average is $34.77. 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 Corporation has a 52-week low of $31.03 and a 52-week high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The cable giant reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $30.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.81 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 18.86%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Comcast's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.82%.

Comcast 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.