KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Raises Stock Holdings in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its stake in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,532,006 shares of the cable giant's stock after purchasing an additional 89,000 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Comcast were worth $56,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the 1st quarter worth approximately $335,000. Aviva PLC boosted its position in Comcast by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 2,327,702 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $87,359,000 after acquiring an additional 156,986 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,282,833 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $157,766,000 after acquiring an additional 1,261,278 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Comcast by 21.7% during the first quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 76,791 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $2,834,000 after purchasing an additional 13,678 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $35.37. The company had a trading volume of 16,129,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,263,232. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $35.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.28. Comcast Corporation has a 52-week low of $31.44 and a 52-week high of $45.31. The stock has a market cap of $132.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.69, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.95.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The cable giant reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.70% and a net margin of 12.72%. The company had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Comcast Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 2nd were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. Comcast's payout ratio is 32.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. New Street Research dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Argus downgraded shares of Comcast from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on Comcast from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Comcast in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Comcast from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $41.10.

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.