HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Charter Communications, Inc. $CHTR

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,116 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,855 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Charter Communications were worth $9,993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Charter Communications by 1.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,191,760 shares of the company's stock worth $3,018,909,000 after buying an additional 120,303 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Charter Communications by 53.6% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,310,073 shares of the company's stock worth $851,331,000 after buying an additional 806,145 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Charter Communications by 7.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,834,807 shares of the company's stock worth $676,181,000 after buying an additional 120,624 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Charter Communications by 822.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,263,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $433,167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,126,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Charter Communications by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,001,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $343,135,000 after purchasing an additional 142,883 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CHTR. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Charter Communications from $425.00 to $355.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Charter Communications from $341.00 to $275.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Arete Research raised shares of Charter Communications to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Charter Communications from $425.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Charter Communications from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $404.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher L. Winfrey purchased 3,670 shares of Charter Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $273.10 per share, with a total value of $1,002,277.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 70,243 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,183,363.30. This represents a 5.51% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Balan Nair purchased 360 shares of Charter Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $274.21 per share, for a total transaction of $98,715.60. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 9,622 shares in the company, valued at $2,638,448.62. This trade represents a 3.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Charter Communications Trading Up 4.9%

CHTR stock traded up $13.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $280.98. The company had a trading volume of 790,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,486,540. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.69, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.02. Charter Communications, Inc. has a 52-week low of $254.67 and a 52-week high of $437.06. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $344.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $362.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.57.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $9.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.06 by ($0.88). The company had revenue of $13.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.76 billion. Charter Communications had a return on equity of 26.77% and a net margin of 9.53%.The company's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Charter Communications, Inc. will post 38.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charter Communications Profile

Charter Communications, Inc operates as a broadband connectivity and cable operator company serving residential and commercial customers in the United States. The company offers subscription-based internet, video, and mobile and voice services; a suite of broadband connectivity services, including fixed internet, WiFi, and mobile; Advanced WiFi services; Spectrum Security Shield; in-home WiFi, which provides customers with high performance wireless routers and managed WiFi services to enhance their fixed wireless internet experience; out-of-home WiFi; and Spectrum WiFi services.