JGP Wealth Management LLC Sells 43,944 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

JGP Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 19.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 180,420 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 43,944 shares during the quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Comcast were worth $6,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at $3,835,226,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at $743,681,000. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Comcast by 147.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 24,086,671 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $895,499,000 after buying an additional 14,369,056 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 141,680,277 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $5,317,167,000 after acquiring an additional 11,255,683 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Comcast by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 50,320,446 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,890,027,000 after buying an additional 5,402,377 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $34.66. 22,049,036 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,023,533. The company's 50 day moving average is $34.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.57. Comcast Co. has a 1 year low of $31.44 and a 1 year high of $45.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $129.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.97.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The cable giant reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.82 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. Comcast's revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. Comcast's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas lowered Comcast from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group set a $44.50 target price on shares of Comcast in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research note on Monday, April 28th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $37.00 target price on Comcast in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.10.

About Comcast

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.