Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Stock Holdings Lessened by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 395,635 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 1,946 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $17,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Iowa State Bank boosted its position in Comcast by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 82,244 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $3,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344 shares during the last quarter. Founders Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Founders Capital Management LLC now owns 186,160 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $8,163,000 after acquiring an additional 13,095 shares in the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co lifted its holdings in Comcast by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 68,590 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $3,008,000 after purchasing an additional 1,365 shares during the last quarter. Monte Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Comcast by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Monte Financial Group LLC now owns 189,759 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $8,321,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Savings Bank grew its holdings in Comcast by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 20,885 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMCSA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Comcast from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $44.00 in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Comcast Trading Down 0.7 %

CMCSA opened at $41.53 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.16, a P/E/G 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 twelve month low of $36.38 and a twelve month high of $47.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.12.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The cable giant reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.04. Comcast had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The business had revenue of $31.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.41 billion. Analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Comcast’s payout ratio is 31.18%.

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.