Vanguard Group Inc. Has $13.59 Billion Stake in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Comcast Corporation by 0.4%, selling 1,352,442 shares, leaving it with approximately 368.2 million shares valued at around $13.59 billion.
• Comcast has received mixed ratings from analysts, with ratings ranging from "strong buy" to "sell"; the average rating is currently "hold" with a price target of $40.73.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, translating to an annual yield of 4.1%, to be paid on October 22nd to shareholders of record by October 1st.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 368,181,725 shares of the cable giant's stock after selling 1,352,442 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.86% of Comcast worth $13,585,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CMCSA. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. bought a new stake in Comcast in the first quarter worth approximately $297,000. Twin City Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 82,903 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $3,059,000 after purchasing an additional 1,918 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA boosted its holdings in Comcast by 2.6% in the first quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 32,782 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $1,210,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Island Capital LLC increased its position in Comcast by 38.6% during the first quarter. Harbor Island Capital LLC now owns 238,173 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $8,789,000 after buying an additional 66,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Michigan Advisors LLC bought a new position in Comcast during the first quarter valued at about $235,000. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMCSA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Arete Research upgraded Comcast to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Moffett Nathanson increased their price target on Comcast from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Comcast from $44.50 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup decreased 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, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.73.

Comcast Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CMCSA remained flat at $31.67 during mid-day trading on Friday. 16,091,644 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,820,288. The firm has a market cap of $116.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.92. 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 Corporation has a 52-week low of $31.44 and a 52-week high of $45.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.96.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The cable giant reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $30.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.81 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 18.44%. The company's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. Comcast's payout ratio is currently 21.82%.

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.