Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

by · The Markets Daily

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA – Free Report) by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. 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. owned about 0.21% of Comcast worth $339,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comcast during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Comcast in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Comcast by 204.7% during the second quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CMCSA. Barclays increased their target price on Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Pivotal Research increased their target price on Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp raised their price target on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Comcast from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.75.

View Our Latest Report on Comcast

Comcast Trading Up 6.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ CMCSA opened at $45.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $174.80 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Comcast Co. has a twelve month low of $36.43 and a twelve month high of $47.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.66.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.06. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Analysts expect that Comcast Co. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 8th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 8th. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Comcast Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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