Scharf Investments LLC Has $224.59 Million Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Scharf Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,180,906 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 146,335 shares during the quarter. Comcast comprises about 6.1% of Scharf Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Scharf Investments LLC owned 0.13% of Comcast worth $224,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Comcast by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 808,607 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $35,053,000 after acquiring an additional 5,824 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 13.1% in the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 145,095 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $6,290,000 after acquiring an additional 16,856 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC raised its position in shares of Comcast by 5.8% during the first quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 7,078 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,543 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signet Financial Management LLC grew its position in shares of Comcast by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 105,599 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $4,578,000 after purchasing an additional 2,628 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Trading Up 0.2 %

CMCSA traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $38.28. 13,071,850 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,548,795. Comcast Co. has a 1-year low of $36.43 and a 1-year high of $47.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $38.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.44.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $30.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.83 billion. Comcast had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 20.10%. Comcast’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 3rd. Comcast’s payout ratio is 32.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMCSA has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Comcast in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.62.

Insider Transactions at Comcast

In other Comcast news, major shareholder Corp Comcast sold 3,176,923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.19, for a total transaction of $10,134,384.37. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,000,000 shares in the company, valued at $6,380,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.