Comcast Corporation $CMCSA Stock Sold by Markel Group Inc.

Markel Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 288,334 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 513,740 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $6,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CMCSA. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Comcast by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 40,864,921 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,173,232,000 after buying an additional 3,783,234 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Comcast by 1.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,461,308 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $845,919,000 after acquiring an additional 507,097 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 4.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 13,592,149 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $390,231,000 after acquiring an additional 630,902 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 824.4% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,616,490 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $333,509,000 after acquiring an additional 10,359,800 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 5.7% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 10,666,200 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $306,227,000 after acquiring an additional 574,300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on CMCSA. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $26.00 target price on Comcast and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on Comcast from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Comcast from $29.00 to $27.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Comcast in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a report on Monday, October 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.77.

Comcast Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $23.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $84.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.49, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.72. Comcast Corporation has a 52 week low of $20.48 and a 52 week high of $32.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.04.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The cable giant reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 14.64% and a net margin of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $29.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Comcast Corporation will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 6th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.77%.

Comcast Company Profile

Comcast Corporation is a global media and communications company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1963 as American Cable Systems, the company grew through the expansion of cable television and broadband services and adopted the Comcast name in 1969.

Through its Connectivity & Platforms businesses, Comcast provides residential and business customers with broadband internet, video, voice, mobile and related services. Its Xfinity brand offers internet, television, streaming and wireless products in the United States, while Comcast Business serves commercial and enterprise customers with connectivity, communications and technology solutions.