Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) Major Shareholder John Malone Purchases 98,704 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Major shareholder John Malone bought 98,704 Liberty Global shares at an average price of $9.76, spending about $963,000. The purchase increased his stake by 1.08% to approximately 9.22 million shares.
• Liberty Global reported quarterly EPS of $1.32, beating analysts’ estimate of a $0.32 loss, and revenue of $1.92 billion versus the $1.71 billion consensus.
• Analyst views remain mixed: the stock has a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $12.78, with two Buy, four Hold and one Sell rating.

Liberty Global Ltd (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Get Free Report) major shareholder John Malone acquired 98,704 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.76 per share, with a total value of $963,351.04. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 9,217,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,965,171.68. This trade represents a 1.08% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company's shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Liberty Global Price Performance

LBTYA opened at $9.99 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $9.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.97. Liberty Global Ltd has a 52-week low of $7.36 and a 52-week high of $13.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of -1.35 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.32) by $1.64. Liberty Global had a negative net margin of 44.40% and a negative return on equity of 25.59%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Liberty Global Ltd will post -1.47 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their price target on Liberty Global from $10.00 to $7.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Liberty Global from $12.10 to $11.90 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Liberty Global in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Liberty Global from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, New Street Research upgraded Liberty Global from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.78.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Global

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LBTYA. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Liberty Global by 42.1% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,590 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 16,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 1,547 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Liberty Global by 54.2% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,080 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 2,137 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 14,042 shares of the company's stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Liberty Global by 31.4% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 15,348 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 3,668 shares in the last quarter. 37.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Liberty Global

Liberty Global is an international telecommunications company that provides broadband, mobile, television and fixed-line voice services through operating companies and joint ventures. Its businesses serve residential and business customers, with offerings that include internet access, mobile connectivity, video services and related communications products.

The company's European portfolio includes Virgin Media O2 in the United Kingdom, VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands and Telenet in Belgium.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.