Savant Capital LLC Sells 13,568 Shares of Charter Communications, Inc. $CHTR

Key Points

• Savant Capital LLC sharply cut its Charter Communications stake by 89.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 13,568 shares and ending with just 1,518 shares valued at about $317,000.
• Wall Street sentiment on CHTR remains cautious: analysts’ consensus rating is “Reduce” with an average price target of $290.38, while the stock was trading near $132.12.
• Charter recently posted mixed quarterly results, with earnings of $9.17 per share missing expectations even as revenue slightly topped estimates; meanwhile, company insiders have been buying shares, including the CEO and a director.

Savant Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR - Free Report) by 89.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,518 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,568 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC's holdings in Charter Communications were worth $317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CHTR. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Charter Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $5,911,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Charter Communications by 119.6% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,969,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $619,885,000 after purchasing an additional 1,617,148 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in Charter Communications by 110.7% in the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 31,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,521,000 after purchasing an additional 16,415 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Charter Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,651,000. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp increased its holdings in Charter Communications by 3,063.3% in the 3rd quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 4,650 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,279,000 after purchasing an additional 4,503 shares in the last quarter. 81.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CHTR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Charter Communications from $250.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Charter Communications in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Benchmark lowered their price target on Charter Communications from $455.00 to $435.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Charter Communications from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, New Street Research lowered their price target on shares of Charter Communications from $328.00 to $302.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $290.38.

Charter Communications Price Performance

CHTR opened at $132.12 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $201.34. The firm has a market cap of $16.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.57, a PEG ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.71. Charter Communications, Inc. has a twelve month low of $126.70 and a twelve month high of $422.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick 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). The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Charter Communications, Inc. will post 43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charter Communications

In related news, Director Balan Nair acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $175.46 per share, with a total value of $175,460.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 12,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,110,608.34. The trade was a 9.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher L. Winfrey acquired 3,468 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $172.23 per share, with a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 20,125 shares of company stock worth $3,167,116. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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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