LGT Capital Partners LTD. Lowers Stock Holdings in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Key Points

• LGT Capital Partners LTD. has reduced its stake in Comcast Corporation by 6.8%, selling 71,655 shares in the first quarter, leaving it with 979,965 shares valued at approximately $36.16 million.
• Comcast recently reported earnings of $1.25 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.18, and its revenue rose by 2.1% year-over-year to $30.31 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, representing an annual yield of 4.1%, with the dividend payout date set for October 22.

LGT Capital Partners LTD. reduced its holdings in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 6.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 979,965 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 71,655 shares during the period. Comcast makes up 1.6% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.'s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. LGT Capital Partners LTD.'s holdings in Comcast were worth $36,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Advisor OS LLC lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 33.2% during the first quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 35,440 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 8,841 shares during the last quarter. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Comcast during the 1st quarter valued at $335,000. Aviva PLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 156,986 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Comcast by 41.7% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Comcast by 21.7% in the 1st 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. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays dropped their price target on Comcast from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Comcast in a report on Friday, July 18th. Arete Research upgraded Comcast to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Comcast from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.73.

Comcast Stock Performance

CMCSA traded down $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $32.56. 3,914,332 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,417,701. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $34.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.07. The company has a market capitalization of $121.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.38, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Comcast Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $31.44 and a fifty-two week high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The cable giant reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.07. Comcast had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 18.86%. The business had revenue of $30.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. Comcast's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Comcast Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. Comcast's payout ratio is presently 21.82%.

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.