Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires New Position in Charter Communications, Inc. $CHTR

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CHTR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Charter Communications by 53.6% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,310,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $851,331,000 after acquiring an additional 806,145 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Charter Communications by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,099,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,118,000 after purchasing an additional 198,444 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charter Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $71,956,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of Charter Communications by 42.2% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 500,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,614,000 after buying an additional 148,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Charter Communications by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,834,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $676,181,000 after buying an additional 120,624 shares in the last quarter. 81.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charter Communications Stock Down 3.5%

Charter Communications stock opened at $255.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.57, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. Charter Communications, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $251.80 and a fifty-two week high of $437.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $266.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $336.34. The firm has a market cap of $34.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.05.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $9.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.06 by ($0.88). Charter Communications had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 26.77%. The business had revenue of $13.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Charter Communications, Inc. will post 38.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CHTR shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Charter Communications from $341.00 to $275.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Charter Communications in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $325.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Charter Communications from $370.00 to $325.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Charter Communications from $380.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Charter Communications in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $373.71.

Insider Activity at Charter Communications

In other Charter Communications news, Director Balan Nair purchased 360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $274.21 per share, with a total value of $98,715.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,638,448.62. This represents a 3.89% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher L. Winfrey purchased 3,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $273.10 per share, with a total value of $1,002,277.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 70,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,183,363.30. The trade was a 5.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Charter Communications Profile

Charter Communications, Inc operates as a broadband connectivity and cable operator company serving residential and commercial customers in the United States. The company offers subscription-based internet, video, and mobile and voice services; a suite of broadband connectivity services, including fixed internet, WiFi, and mobile; Advanced WiFi services; Spectrum Security Shield; in-home WiFi, which provides customers with high performance wireless routers and managed WiFi services to enhance their fixed wireless internet experience; out-of-home WiFi; and Spectrum WiFi services.