Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Purchases 6,911 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 64.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,673 shares of the cable giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,911 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Comcast by 904.0% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 254,545 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $10,632,000 after purchasing an additional 229,192 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter valued at about $743,681,000. Bfsg LLC raised its position in shares of Comcast by 752.8% in the 4th quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 83,366 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $3,129,000 after acquiring an additional 73,590 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in Comcast by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 43,509 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 3,344 shares during the period. Finally, Robinson Value Management Ltd. increased its stake in Comcast by 136.7% in the fourth quarter. Robinson Value Management Ltd. now owns 102,360 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $3,842,000 after purchasing an additional 59,107 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast Stock Performance

CMCSA opened at $37.37 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.01. Comcast Co. has a 52-week low of $32.50 and a 52-week high of $45.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.00, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CMCSA. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Benchmark lowered their price target on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.64.

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.