Howard Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management Inc. has reduced its holdings in Comcast Corporation by 6.2%, now owning 118,570 shares valued at approximately $4,375,000 as of the latest filing.
• Several other institutional investors have also adjusted their positions in Comcast, with Mesirow Financial increasing its stake by 8.2%, while Arkadios Wealth Advisors expanded its holdings by 67.9%.
• Analysts have recently downgraded Comcast's price targets, with Citigroup lowering theirs from $44.00 to $39.00 and JPMorgan cutting theirs from $39.00 to $37.00, amid mixed ratings that include three sell ratings and twelve buy ratings.

Howard Capital Management Inc. cut its position in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 118,570 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 7,783 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Comcast were worth $4,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Comcast by 150.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 166,265 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $6,240,000 after purchasing an additional 99,986 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter worth approximately $960,000. Everstar Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Everstar Asset Management LLC now owns 7,712 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. StoneX Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Comcast by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 48,916 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,836,000 after acquiring an additional 8,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Comcast by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 85,812,139 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $3,212,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,272 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA stock traded down $0.71 during trading on Friday, reaching $32.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 22,392,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,528,980. The company has a market capitalization of $121.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.95. The company's fifty day moving average is $34.84 and its 200-day moving average is $35.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Comcast Corporation has a 1 year low of $31.44 and a 1 year high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The cable giant reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $30.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.81 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.70% and a net margin of 12.72%. The firm's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Comcast Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Comcast's payout ratio is currently 32.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Comcast from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Argus lowered Comcast from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Comcast from $55.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Comcast from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Comcast from $44.50 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.77.

Comcast Company 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.