Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 775,826 Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,695,517 shares of the cable giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 775,826 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.15% of Comcast worth $213,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast in the 4th quarter worth $778,000. Payden & Rygel lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 627.3% in the fourth quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 215,070 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $8,072,000 after buying an additional 185,500 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Comcast by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 39,205 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after buying an additional 1,782 shares during the last quarter. Katamaran Capital LLP purchased a new position in Comcast during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,003,000. Finally, Aviva PLC grew its holdings in Comcast by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 2,327,702 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $87,359,000 after buying an additional 156,986 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA opened at $33.38 on Friday. Comcast Co. has a 1 year low of $32.50 and a 1 year high of $45.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $35.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.87.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 13.09%. Research analysts anticipate 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 issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CMCSA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Comcast from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced 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. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Macquarie cut their target price on Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Ten equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.08.

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.