J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Lowers Position in Comcast Corporation $CMCSA

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG has reduced its holdings in Comcast Corporation by 35.8%, selling 19,715 shares to hold 35,307 shares worth approximately $1.26 million.
• Other hedge funds have adjusted their positions in Comcast, with Brighton Jones LLC increasing its stake by 150.9% to own 166,265 shares.
• Comcast recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, reflecting an annualized payout of $1.32 and a dividend yield of 4.3%.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG cut its holdings in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 35.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,307 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 19,715 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Comcast were worth $1,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Comcast by 150.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 166,265 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $6,240,000 after acquiring an additional 99,986 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 24.2% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,442 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 2,422 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 76.6% during the first quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 68,759 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $2,537,000 after buying an additional 29,822 shares during the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 14.7% during the first quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 7,136 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stablepoint Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 13.9% during the first quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 44,962 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,659,000 after buying an additional 5,476 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on CMCSA shares. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Comcast from $44.50 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Comcast in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Moffett Nathanson increased their price target on shares of Comcast from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.26.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $30.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.11, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. Comcast Corporation has a 12 month low of $30.38 and a 12 month high of $45.31. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $32.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The cable giant reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.07. The business 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 business's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. Analysts expect that Comcast Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Comcast's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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