Sowell Financial Services LLC Grows Stock Position in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 75.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 30,928 shares of the cable giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,254 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Comcast were worth $1,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its position in Comcast by 126.9% during the first quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 801 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in Comcast by 203.4% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 895 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comcast Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $34.26 on Thursday. Comcast Corporation has a 12-month low of $31.44 and a 12-month high of $45.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.98.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The cable giant reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.82 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.70% and a net margin of 12.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Comcast Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research note on Monday, April 28th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Comcast from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Comcast from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Comcast from $55.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $44.50 target price (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Comcast in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.10.

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.