Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Invests $12.87 Million in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 342,851 shares of the cable giant’s stock, valued at approximately $12,867,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Comcast by 269.9% in the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Comcast during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMCSA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price objective on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Benchmark cut their price objective on Comcast from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lowered Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $44.50 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital lowered 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. Nine equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.83.

Comcast Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $35.75 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.16. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $135.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast Co. has a 12-month low of $32.50 and a 12-month high of $45.31.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.81%.

About Comcast

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.