Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 49,045 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 120% compared to the typical daily volume of 22,263 put options.

Insider Activity at Comcast

In related news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 114,749 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.10, for a total value of $5,289,928.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 94.1% during the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 623 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Quilter Plc acquired a new stake in Comcast during the first quarter worth about $695,100,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in Comcast during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMCSA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Comcast from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Redburn Atlantic downgraded 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Comcast from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.50.

Comcast Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $40.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.92. The stock has a market cap of $159.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. Comcast has a 1-year low of $36.38 and a 1-year high of $47.46.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The cable giant reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $31.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.41 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 19.75%. On average, research analysts expect that Comcast will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 3rd will be given a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

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.