Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Stock Price Up 1.6%

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 1.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $39.63 and last traded at $39.62. Approximately 2,925,791 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 20,441,336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMCSA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Comcast from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on Comcast from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Comcast from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $55.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comcast currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.50.

Comcast Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $157.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.65, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.98. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $41.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The cable giant reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $31.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.41 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 12.66%. As a group, analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. This is an increase from Comcast's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Comcast's payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Comcast news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 114,749 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.10, for a total value of $5,289,928.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 11,426 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in Comcast by 20.1% in the first quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 669,393 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $29,018,000 after purchasing an additional 112,134 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 11.3% during the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,166 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 425.2% during the first quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 145,381 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $6,302,000 after purchasing an additional 117,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 38.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 9,852 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 2,750 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company's stock.

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.