Northern Trust Corp Trims Stock Position in Comcast Corporation $CMCSA

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Comcast Corporation by 4.9%, selling over 2 million shares, leaving them with approximately 40.4 million shares valued at $1.49 billion.
• Comcast announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, with an annualized total of $1.32 and a yield of 3.9%, payable on October 22nd.
• Recent analyst reports reflect a mix of ratings for Comcast, with an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.73.

Northern Trust Corp lowered its position in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,408,847 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 2,070,654 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.08% of Comcast worth $1,491,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CMCSA. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Comcast in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Comcast during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 126.9% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 801 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 203.4% during the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 895 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Comcast Trading Up 1.6%

Comcast stock traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $34.15. The stock had a trading volume of 25,267,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,360,090. 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 52-week low of $31.03 and a 52-week high of $45.31. The firm has a market cap of $126.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $34.21 and a 200 day moving average of $34.77.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The cable giant reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $30.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Comcast Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Comcast's dividend payout ratio is 21.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Moffett Nathanson increased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $35.00 in a report on Friday, June 20th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.73.

Comcast 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.