Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $17.88 Million Stock Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 51.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 428,162 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 459,882 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Comcast were worth $17,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CMCSA. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Comcast during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Comcast during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC increased 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 last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Comcast by 365.4% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 726 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp boosted its holdings in Comcast by 177.1% in the second quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 812 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $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 Price Performance

CMCSA traded down $0.36 during trading on Thursday, hitting $43.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,111,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,544,756. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.82. Comcast Co. has a 12 month low of $36.43 and a 12 month high of $47.11.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $32.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.78 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 11.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Comcast Co. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Comcast’s payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CMCSA. StockNews.com downgraded Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Comcast from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $47.75 to $48.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Comcast currently has an average 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.