Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 47.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,889 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 9,006 shares during the period. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Comcast by 269.9% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of Comcast stock opened at $35.18 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.66. Comcast Co. has a 52 week low of $32.20 and a 52 week high of $45.31. The stock has a market cap of $133.02 billion, a PE ratio of 8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMCSA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America cut shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Comcast has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.10.

Comcast 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.