Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 12.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,126,494 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 1,107,831 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $339,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Comcast in the second quarter worth about $26,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Comcast by 365.4% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Comcast by 220.3% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 204.7% during the 2nd quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp increased its holdings in shares of Comcast by 177.1% during the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 812 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $45.14 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $174.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast Co. has a twelve month low of $36.43 and a twelve month high of $47.11.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The company had revenue of $32.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Comcast’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Comcast from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their target price on Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank raised shares of Comcast from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $47.75 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.75.

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.