Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 265,465 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 3,657 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Comcast were worth $9,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Taurus Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Comcast by 2.9% in the third quarter. Taurus Asset Management LLC now owns 9,125 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Comcast by 4.7% during the third quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,829 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Comcast by 1.0% during the third quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 27,211 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,137,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in Comcast by 14.8% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mengis Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Comcast by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,060 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $796,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $36.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $32.50 and a 1-year high of $45.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $36.65 and a 200 day moving average of $39.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its earnings results 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of Comcast stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $10,002,234.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $1,087,620.83. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CMCSA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Comcast currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.13.

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.