Candriam S.C.A. Sells 316,644 Shares of Liberty Global Ltd $LBTYA

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. sold 316,644 shares of Liberty Global, reducing its stake by 39.2% to a total of 491,007 shares, which are valued at approximately $5.65 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes in Liberty Global recently, with Hi Line Capital Management growing its holdings by 21.1% to over 1 million shares valued at about $11.53 million.
• Analysts have given Liberty Global mixed ratings, with a consensus target price of $14.26 and ratings ranging from "buy" to "sell," indicating uncertainty about the company's performance.

Candriam S.C.A. lessened its stake in Liberty Global Ltd (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Free Report) by 39.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 491,007 shares of the company's stock after selling 316,644 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A. owned about 0.14% of Liberty Global worth $5,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 81.5% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in Liberty Global during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Liberty Global in the first quarter valued at approximately $78,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Liberty Global by 2,370.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,745 shares of the company's stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 6,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its position in Liberty Global by 90.9% during the first quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 10,500 shares of the company's stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 37.20% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liberty Global news, Director Miranda Curtis sold 42,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.77, for a total transaction of $501,402.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 129,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,521,919.85. The trade was a 24.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Charles H. R. Bracken sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.31, for a total transaction of $678,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 33,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $375,718.20. This represents a 64.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 136,980 shares of company stock valued at $1,577,091 in the last ninety days. 11.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on LBTYA. Berenberg Bank raised Liberty Global to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Liberty Global from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $21.00 target price (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Liberty Global in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays set a $11.00 target price on shares of Liberty Global and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Liberty Global from $10.60 to $11.80 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $14.26.

Liberty Global Price Performance

NASDAQ LBTYA traded up $0.02 on Wednesday, reaching $11.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 248,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,080,399. Liberty Global Ltd has a 52 week low of $9.02 and a 52 week high of $21.56. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $10.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.55. The firm has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of -1.20 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The company reported ($8.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.55) by ($7.54). The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Liberty Global had a negative net margin of 60.38% and a negative return on equity of 22.64%. Sell-side analysts expect that Liberty Global Ltd will post -1.35 EPS for the current year.

Liberty Global Profile

Liberty Global Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband internet, video, fixed-line telephony, and mobile communications services to residential and business customers. It offers value-added broadband services, such as WiFi features, security, anti-virus, firewall, spam protection, smart home services, online storage solutions, and web spaces; and Connect Box that delivers in-home Wi-Fi service.