Comcast Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 55,616 call options on the company. This is an increase of 164% compared to the average volume of 21,058 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CMCSA shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. BNP Paribas cut Comcast from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $44.50 price objective (down from $45.00) on shares of Comcast in a report on Friday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $37.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Comcast has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.10.

Comcast Stock Performance

NASDAQ CMCSA traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $35.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,335,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,097,338. The business has a 50 day moving average of $34.69 and a 200-day moving average of $35.56. The company has a market cap of $133.77 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.95. Comcast has a 1-year low of $31.44 and a 1-year high of $45.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The cable giant reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.82 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.70% and a net margin of 12.72%. The business's revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Comcast will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Comcast's payout ratio is 32.43%.

Institutional Trading of Comcast

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CMCSA. Sculati Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Comcast by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,792 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC grew its position in Comcast by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC now owns 15,539 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp raised its stake in Comcast by 9.0% during the first quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 3,630 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its stake in Comcast by 5.2% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 6,142 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 2.2% during the first quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 14,075 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $519,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.