Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Stock Price Down 0.9% on Insider Selling

Shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) traded down 0.9% on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $38.25 and last traded at $38.34. 2,970,868 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 20,401,303 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.68.

Specifically, major shareholder Corp Comcast sold 3,176,923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.19, for a total value of $10,134,384.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,000,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,380,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CMCSA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Comcast from $55.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup cut their target price on Comcast from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Comcast from $50.00 to $47.25 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. BNP Paribas reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.33.

Comcast Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.21 and a 200 day moving average of $42.04.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The cable giant reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.06. Comcast had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 12.64%. The company had revenue of $30.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 3rd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at $2,542,988,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Comcast by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 107,773,317 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $4,725,926,000 after purchasing an additional 15,625,543 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its stake in Comcast by 25,881.7% in the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 10,850,995 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $470,391,000 after purchasing an additional 10,809,231 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Comcast by 41.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,016,389 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,214,512,000 after purchasing an additional 8,243,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Comcast by 80.9% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 10,542,253 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $457,007,000 after purchasing an additional 4,714,586 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Comcast Company 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.