National Pension Service Increases Position in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in Comcast Corporation by 4.4%, now owning 8,596,019 shares valued at approximately $317 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Comcast recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, representing an annualized rate of $1.32, with a dividend yield of 4.1%.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed opinions on Comcast, with an average rating of "Hold" and varying price targets, reflecting a cautious outlook on the stock's future performance.

National Pension Service grew its stake in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,596,019 shares of the cable giant's stock after buying an additional 364,707 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.23% of Comcast worth $317,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 141,680,277 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $5,317,167,000 after purchasing an additional 11,255,683 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 79,102,667 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $2,968,723,000 after purchasing an additional 5,039,823 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 50,320,446 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,890,027,000 after purchasing an additional 5,402,377 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Comcast by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 42,479,501 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $1,594,256,000 after buying an additional 4,819,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Comcast by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 35,356,027 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $1,326,912,000 after buying an additional 4,991,891 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CMCSA shares. Oppenheimer lowered 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. Bernstein Bank lowered their price objective on Comcast from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price objective on Comcast from $44.00 to $35.00 in a report on Friday, June 20th. Argus cut Comcast from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Comcast from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.73.

Comcast Trading Up 1.7%

CMCSA traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $33.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,700,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,292,310. Comcast Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $31.03 and a fifty-two week high of $45.31. The stock has a market cap of $123.50 billion, a PE ratio of 5.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.92. The business's 50-day moving average is $34.36 and its 200-day moving average is $34.78. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 18.44%. The firm had revenue of $30.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Comcast Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. 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.