Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Buys 16,415 Shares of Charter Communications, Inc. $CHTR

Key Points

• Swiss Life Asset Management more than doubled its stake in Charter Communications during the fourth quarter, buying 16,415 additional shares and lifting its position to 31,239 shares worth about $6.5 million.
• Insiders were active buyers, with CEO Christopher L. Winfrey and Director Wade Davis both purchasing shares in late April; insiders have bought 10,196 shares worth roughly $1.77 million over the past 90 days.
• Charter’s stock has been under pressure, recently trading near $143 after a 3.3% drop, while the company also missed quarterly EPS estimates despite slightly beating revenue expectations.

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR - Free Report) by 110.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,239 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 16,415 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Charter Communications were worth $6,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CHTR. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Charter Communications by 141.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 94 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Charter Communications in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in Charter Communications in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in Charter Communications by 535.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 127 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in Charter Communications by 100.7% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 291 shares of the company's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 81.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher L. Winfrey purchased 3,468 shares of Charter Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was bought 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 directly owned 74,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,815,462.07. This represents a 4.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Wade Davis acquired 5,728 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $173.72 per share, for a total transaction of $995,068.16. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 6,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,203,011. This trade represents a 478.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have acquired 10,196 shares of company stock worth $1,767,822 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHTR has been the topic of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of Charter Communications from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Benchmark dropped their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Charter Communications from $235.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. New Street Research lowered their target price on shares of Charter Communications from $479.00 to $328.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Charter Communications in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charter Communications presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.67.

Charter Communications Stock Down 3.3%

Charter Communications stock opened at $143.06 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.86, a PEG ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.76. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $208.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.56, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Charter Communications, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.76 and a fifty-two week high of $437.06.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR - Get Free Report) last announced 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 the consensus estimate of $13.56 billion. Charter Communications had a return on equity of 24.20% and a net margin of 9.03%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Charter Communications, Inc. will post 43 EPS for the current year.

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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