TD Asset Management Inc Trims Holdings in Charter Communications, Inc. $CHTR

Key Points

• TD Asset Management cut its Charter Communications stake by 48.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 37,078 shares and leaving it with 39,367 shares valued at about $8.2 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: several firms lowered price targets, and the stock now carries an average "Reduce" rating with a consensus target of $290.38.
• Charter reported Q1 EPS of $9.17, missing estimates, while revenue came in slightly ahead of expectations; meanwhile, insiders including the CEO and a director bought shares in April.

TD Asset Management Inc lowered its stake in shares of Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR - Free Report) by 48.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,367 shares of the company's stock after selling 37,078 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc's holdings in Charter Communications were worth $8,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Charter Communications during the 4th quarter worth $555,383,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Charter Communications by 22.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,961,695 shares of the company's stock worth $2,190,302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475,383 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in Charter Communications in the third quarter worth about $327,179,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Charter Communications by 13.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,362,352 shares of the company's stock worth $2,575,630,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130,648 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on CHTR shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on Charter Communications from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started 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. New Street Research dropped their price target on Charter Communications from $328.00 to $302.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Charter Communications from $250.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Charter Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charter Communications has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $290.38.

Charter Communications Stock Up 2.4%

Charter Communications stock opened at $135.37 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.56, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. Charter Communications, Inc. has a one year low of $126.70 and a one year high of $422.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $178.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $200.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Insider Activity at Charter Communications

In other Charter Communications news, Director Wade Davis acquired 5,728 shares of Charter Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $173.72 per share, for a total transaction of $995,068.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,203,011. This represents a 478.53% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher L. Winfrey acquired 3,468 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owned 74,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 have purchased 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $3,167,116. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Charter Communications 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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