Neuberger Berman Group LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC reduced its position in Comcast Corporation by 29.4%, owning 1,022,444 shares valued at approximately $37.73 million after selling 425,542 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple brokerages have cut their price targets for Comcast, with Rothschild & Co Redburn setting a new target of $35.00, down from $44.00, indicating a bearish outlook.
• Comcast recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.0%, with a payout ratio of 21.82%.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC trimmed its stake in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 29.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,022,444 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 425,542 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC's holdings in Comcast were worth $37,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CMCSA. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 126.9% in the first quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 801 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 203.4% in the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 895 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of CMCSA stock traded up $0.55 on Friday, hitting $33.45. 20,700,567 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,292,310. Comcast Corporation has a one year low of $31.03 and a one year high of $45.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $34.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.77.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The cable giant reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $30.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.81 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 18.86%. Comcast's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Comcast Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Comcast's payout ratio is 21.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CMCSA. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on Comcast from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note 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 research note on Friday, April 25th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Comcast from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Comcast from $44.50 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Comcast from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.73.

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.