Palouse Capital Management Inc. Has $2.15 Million Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Palouse Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 46.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 58,263 shares of the cable giant's stock after purchasing an additional 18,552 shares during the quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Comcast were worth $2,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CMCSA. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Comcast in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,835,226,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $743,681,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in Comcast by 147.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 24,086,671 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $895,499,000 after acquiring an additional 14,369,056 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in Comcast by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 141,680,277 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $5,317,167,000 after acquiring an additional 11,255,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 12.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA traded down $0.58 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $34.53. 16,051,863 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,053,494. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.32, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.95. The company's 50-day moving average price is $34.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $31.44 and a 1-year high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The cable giant reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. The firm had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Comcast Co. 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, July 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. Comcast's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CMCSA. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Comcast from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $37.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Monday, April 14th. BNP Paribas lowered Comcast from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $44.50 target price (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Comcast in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $37.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.10.

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.