Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $11.24 Million Stake in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) by 8.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 269,122 shares of the cable giant’s stock after selling 25,836 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Comcast were worth $11,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CMCSA. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in Comcast by 1.3% during the third quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 86,248 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $3,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,079 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 2.1% during the third quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 60,305 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $2,519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp grew its holdings in shares of Comcast by 71.7% in the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,394 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 582 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its position in shares of Comcast by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 88,662 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $3,703,000 after buying an additional 1,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Comcast by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 800,359 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $33,431,000 after buying an additional 34,903 shares during the period. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $42.88 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.00. Comcast Co. has a 1 year low of $36.43 and a 1 year high of $47.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 11.92%. The firm had revenue of $32.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 8th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Comcast’s payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CMCSA. KeyCorp increased their target price on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays increased their target price on Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.75.

Comcast 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.