Vident Advisory LLC Boosts Stock Position in Comcast Corporation $CMCSA

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 22.8% during the first quarter, now owning 119,923 shares worth approximately $4.43 million.
• Comcast's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.25, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $30.31 billion, marking a 2.1% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, which will be paid out on October 22nd, reflecting a 3.9% dividend yield.

Vident Advisory LLC increased its position in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Free Report) by 22.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 119,923 shares of the cable giant's stock after buying an additional 22,235 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Comcast were worth $4,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Comcast by 76.6% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,440,738 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $348,363,000 after buying an additional 4,096,382 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Comcast by 37.3% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,918,217 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $144,582,000 after buying an additional 1,064,614 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Comcast in the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Comcast in the 1st quarter worth approximately $538,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in Comcast by 66.5% in the 1st quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 412,091 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $15,206,000 after buying an additional 164,560 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on CMCSA shares. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Arete Research upgraded Comcast to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Comcast from $44.50 to $45.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Comcast in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Comcast from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.73.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of Comcast stock traded down $0.24 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $33.89. 17,907,194 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 24,061,951. 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 1 year low of $31.03 and a 1 year high of $45.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.60, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.72.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.07. Comcast had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 18.44%.The company had revenue of $30.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.81 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. Comcast's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Comcast Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current 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. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.