Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Trims Stock Holdings in Comcast Corporation $CMCSA

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lessened its stake in shares of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 4.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 349,221 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 15,645 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Comcast were worth $12,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Trust Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Comcast by 906.8% in the second quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 745 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 86.0% during the second quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 757 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co grew its position in shares of Comcast by 433.3% in the second quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 768 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in Comcast in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Comcast by 403.5% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 856 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Stock Performance

Comcast stock opened at $26.73 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.33. Comcast Corporation has a one year low of $25.75 and a one year high of $43.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.38 billion, a PE ratio of 4.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.83.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 13th. The cable giant reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $30.34 billion during the quarter. Comcast had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 18.33%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Comcast Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 14th. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CMCSA. Benchmark lowered their price target on Comcast from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $38.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Comcast in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Arete lowered their price objective on shares of Comcast from $39.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.92.

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.