Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Buys 2,902 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 96.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,923 shares of the cable giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,902 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 5.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $4,904,647,000 after buying an additional 6,062,658 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 1.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,871,235 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,331,192,000 after buying an additional 416,759 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 6.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 30,364,136 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,268,310,000 after buying an additional 1,717,762 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its stake in Comcast by 5.4% in the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 15,983,230 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $667,620,000 after purchasing an additional 822,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Comcast by 4.8% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 14,918,501 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $623,146,000 after purchasing an additional 676,920 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CMCSA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised Comcast to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Comcast from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of CMCSA opened at $35.39 on Tuesday. Comcast Co. has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $45.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $133.81 billion, a PE ratio of 8.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.00.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.88%.

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.