Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Down 0.9% After Insider Selling

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)’s stock price fell 0.9% during trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $38.25 and last traded at $38.34. 2,970,868 shares changed hands during mid-day 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.19, for a total transaction of $10,134,384.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,000,000 shares in the company, valued at $6,380,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic lowered Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Comcast from $55.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com lowered Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.33.

Comcast Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.04. 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 company has a market cap of $151.22 billion, a PE ratio of 10.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.99.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The cable giant reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $29.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. Comcast’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.21 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CMCSA. Luken Investment Analytics LLC boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 258.0% in the 1st quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 580 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 154.6% in the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 611 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. lifted its position in Comcast by 299.1% during the 4th 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. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

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.