Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 32,090 Shares of Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,147,364 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,090 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 2.21% of Charter Communications worth $1,078,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Charter Communications by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Charter Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in Charter Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Charter Communications by 37.7% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Charter Communications in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 81.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp upgraded Charter Communications from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Charter Communications from $380.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup assumed coverage on Charter Communications in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Charter Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Charter Communications from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $393.18.

Charter Communications Price Performance

NASDAQ CHTR opened at $369.02 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $359.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $356.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.73, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. Charter Communications, Inc. has a 52-week low of $236.08 and a 52-week high of $415.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.13.

Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $10.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.14 by $0.96. Charter Communications had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 29.01%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Charter Communications, Inc. will post 38.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.