Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Holdings in Charter Communications, Inc. $CHTR

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its Charter Communications stake by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 15,259 shares and leaving it with 520,380 shares worth about $108.6 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Charter has a consensus rating of "Reduce" with a consensus price target of $290.38, even after several recent target-price changes and rating adjustments.
• Charter reported Q1 earnings below expectations, with EPS of $9.17 versus the $10.01 estimate, though revenue of $13.60 billion slightly beat forecasts; meanwhile, insiders have been buying shares, including CEO Christopher L. Winfrey and director Mauricio Ramos.

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR - Free Report) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 520,380 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,259 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.41% of Charter Communications worth $108,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morningstar Investment Management LLC grew its position in Charter Communications by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 8,079 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,686,000 after buying an additional 1,263 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 80.8% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 573 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Charter Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Charter Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $726,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. 81.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHTR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Charter Communications from $428.00 to $437.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Charter Communications from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Charter Communications from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Charter Communications from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Charter Communications from $210.00 to $185.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Charter Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $290.38.

Charter Communications Price Performance

Charter Communications stock opened at $147.26 on Friday. Charter Communications, Inc. has a 52 week low of $136.63 and a 52 week high of $422.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.11 billion, a PE ratio of 3.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.76. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $190.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.56.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mauricio Ramos bought 9,929 shares of Charter Communications stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $140.93 per share, for a total transaction of $1,399,293.97. Following the acquisition, the director owned 19,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,721,217.37. This trade represents a 105.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher L. Winfrey bought 3,468 shares of Charter Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $172.23 per share, for a total transaction of $597,293.64. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 74,409 shares in the company, valued at $12,815,462.07. This represents a 4.89% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought 20,125 shares of company stock worth $3,167,116 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Charter Communications Company Profile

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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