Neuberger Berman Group LLC Trims Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Neuberger Berman Group LLC decreased its stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,447,986 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 129,194 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $54,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in Comcast by 14.8% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its position in Comcast by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Five Oceans Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 12,336 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Comcast by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 26,470 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $993,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Old Port Advisors raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 6,910 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Performance

NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $35.18 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $133.02 billion, a PE ratio of 8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.66. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $32.20 and a 1-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.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s payout ratio is presently 31.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CMCSA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Comcast from $44.50 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Comcast has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.10.

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.