Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Purchased by Great Lakes Retirement Inc.

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its holdings in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,423 shares of the cable giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $632,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 15,458 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. United Bank increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 37,271 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 5,532 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Comcast by 29.6% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,063,697 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $190,261,000 after buying an additional 928,627 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Comcast by 104.4% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,472 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast in the first quarter worth $482,000. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast Trading Up 0.8 %

Comcast stock traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $43.40. 8,817,472 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,055,750. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Comcast Co. has a 12 month low of $36.38 and a 12 month high of $47.46. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.22.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The cable giant reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.04. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 12.66%. The firm had revenue of $31.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.41 billion. Analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 114,749 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.10, for a total transaction of $5,289,928.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research report on Tuesday. Pivotal Research raised their target price on shares of Comcast from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Comcast from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Comcast from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.68.

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.