Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Lowers Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp trimmed its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 265,371 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 8,716 shares during the quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Comcast were worth $9,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Comcast by 269.9% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 688 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Comcast by 54.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 814 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $33.38 on Monday. Comcast Co. has a one year low of $32.50 and a one year high of $45.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $35.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.87.

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

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CMCSA. Benchmark reduced their target price 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. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 price objective on Comcast in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Comcast presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.08.

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.