Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Sold by Washington Trust Advisors Inc.

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,337 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 386 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMCSA. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in Comcast by 94.1% in the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 623 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its holdings in Comcast by 299.1% during the fourth quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 634,727 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 475,675 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in Comcast during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 205.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 917 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Comcast Price Performance

CMCSA stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Thursday, hitting $43.31. The company had a trading volume of 5,926,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,031,412. Comcast Co. has a fifty-two week low of $36.38 and a fifty-two week high of $47.46. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.22. The company has a market cap of $172.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The cable giant reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $31.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.41 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 12.66%. Equities research analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 3rd will be paid 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 2.86%. This is a positive change from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.18%.

Insider Transactions at Comcast

In other news, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 114,749 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMCSA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research report on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Comcast from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Comcast from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.68.

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.