Arete Cuts Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Price Target to $33.00

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) had its price objective cut by Arete from $39.00 to $33.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,MarketScreener reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the cable giant’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on Comcast from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Arete Research upgraded Comcast to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Comcast from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.52.

Comcast Stock Down 4.2%

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $27.32 on Tuesday. Comcast has a 12-month low of $25.75 and a 12-month high of $45.31. The company has a market capitalization of $100.87 billion, a PE ratio of 4.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $31.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.37.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 13th. The cable giant reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Comcast had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 18.86%. The company had revenue of $30.34 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 14th. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CMCSA. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Comcast during the second quarter worth approximately $3,528,361,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Comcast in the first quarter valued at $940,015,000. Dodge & Cox boosted its holdings in Comcast by 18.1% in the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 111,272,320 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $3,971,309,000 after acquiring an additional 17,054,579 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Comcast by 1,959.3% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,228,732 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $488,140,000 after acquiring an additional 12,586,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 133.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 10,187,177 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $363,580,000 after purchasing an additional 5,817,614 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

About Comcast

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.