PhillyInc

Days after facing criticism over executive pay at his company's annual meeting, Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) Chief Executive Brian Roberts did something he hadn't done since 2004: He sold some of his vast holdings in the cable company. Comcast said in an SEC filing today that Roberts sold 350,000 shares valued at $9.4 million between May 24 and May 25. He still owns about 1.2 percent of the company's outstanding shares. Comcast spokeswoman D'arcy Rudnay told PhillyInc today that sale was done to diversify Roberts' investment portfolio, for estate planning purposes and because of "increased philanthropic work." These are the reasons executives often cite for selling shares. Shares of Comcast have performed poorly this year, dropping 4.8 percent while rivals including Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), EchoStar Communications (NASDAQ: DISH) and AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) each have jumped by double-digit percentages. - Jonathan Berr