Charter Communications, Inc. $CHTR Shares Sold by Weitz Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Weitz Investment Management slashed its Charter Communications stake by 99.4% in the fourth quarter, selling more than 101,000 shares and ending with just 650 shares worth about $136,000.
• Charter reported mixed quarterly results: EPS of $9.17 missed expectations, while revenue of $13.60 billion slightly topped estimates. Revenue still declined 1.0% year over year.
• Wall Street sentiment remains cautious, with analysts assigning a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average target price of $290.38, even as Charter’s stock traded far below that level around $139.14.

Weitz Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR - Free Report) by 99.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 650 shares of the company's stock after selling 101,955 shares during the quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Charter Communications were worth $136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CHTR. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Charter Communications by 141.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 94 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Charter Communications by 1,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 187 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in Charter Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Charter Communications by 535.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Charter Communications by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 357 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. 81.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on CHTR. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Charter Communications from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Charter Communications from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Charter Communications from $455.00 to $435.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Charter Communications from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Charter Communications from $235.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $290.38.

Charter Communications Price Performance

NASDAQ:CHTR opened at $139.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.56, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $17.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $174.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $199.59. Charter Communications, Inc. has a 1-year low of $126.70 and a 1-year high of $422.29.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $9.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.01 by ($0.84). The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.56 billion. Charter Communications had a net margin of 9.03% and a return on equity of 24.20%. Charter Communications's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Charter Communications, Inc. will post 43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher L. Winfrey bought 3,468 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $172.23 per share, with a total value of $597,293.64. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 74,409 shares in the company, valued at $12,815,462.07. This trade represents a 4.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mauricio Ramos purchased 9,929 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $140.93 per share, with a total value of $1,399,293.97. Following the acquisition, the director owned 19,309 shares in the company, valued at $2,721,217.37. This represents a 105.85% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 20,125 shares of company stock worth $3,167,116. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Charter Communications

Charter Communications, Inc is a U.S.-based telecommunications and mass media company that provides broadband communications and video services to residential and business customers. Operating primarily under the Spectrum brand, the company offers high-speed internet, cable television, digital voice (phone) and wireless services, as well as managed and enterprise networking solutions for commercial customers. Charter's service portfolio targets both consumer and business markets with bundled and standalone offerings designed to meet streaming, connectivity and communications needs.

The company's consumer-facing products include Spectrum Internet, Spectrum TV and Spectrum Voice, while Spectrum Mobile provides wireless service through arrangements with national wireless carriers.

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