Hills Bank & Trust Co Trims Holdings in Comcast Corporation $CMCSA

Key Points

• Hills Bank & Trust Co cut its Comcast stake by 66.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 46,258 shares and leaving it with 22,936 shares worth about $686,000.
• Comcast recently reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.79 versus the $0.73 estimate and revenue of $31.46 billion, up 5.3% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 5.3%, while analysts overall maintain a Hold rating with an average price target of $34.79.

Hills Bank & Trust Co cut its holdings in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 66.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,936 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 46,258 shares during the quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co's holdings in Comcast were worth $686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA opened at $24.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.71. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $28.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.74. Comcast Corporation has a 52-week low of $24.53 and a 52-week high of $36.66.

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

Comcast Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. Comcast's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Comcast from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Comcast to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Pivotal Research downgraded shares of Comcast from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $34.79.

Trending Headlines about Comcast

Here are the key news stories impacting Comcast this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Comcast declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, reinforcing its income appeal and signaling management confidence in cash flow. Comcast Declares Quarterly Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Comcast as one of the better-positioned names in a challenging cable industry, citing growing demand for high-speed internet and stronger media consumption as cord-cutting shifts the market toward broadband. 2 Stocks to Watch From a Challenging Cable Television Industry
• Positive Sentiment: Comcast continues expanding rural broadband access in Florida and Indiana through public-private partnerships, which supports long-term subscriber growth and reinforces the company’s core connectivity business. What Comcast (CMCSA)'s Dividend, Rural Broadband Push and Legal Settlement Means For Shareholders
• Neutral Sentiment: Comcast’s Sky unit is reportedly advancing talks to acquire ITV’s media and entertainment business, a deal that could be strategic but is still early and may require a performance-based payout structure. Comcast's Sky advances talks to acquire ITV unit with performance-based payout, sources say
• Negative Sentiment: Investor sentiment remains weighed down by Comcast’s $117.5 million data-breach settlement, which keeps cybersecurity, legal liability, and reputation risks in focus. Comcast’s US$117.5m Breach Settlement Puts Data Security Risks In Focus
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage also notes Comcast hit a new 12-month low after an analyst downgrade, underscoring ongoing concern about growth, competition, and margin pressure. Comcast NASDAQ: CMCSA Reaches New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

About Comcast

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.