Blue Trust Inc. Buys 1,081 Shares of Liberty Global Ltd. (NASDAQ:LBTYA)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Liberty Global Ltd. (NASDAQ:LBTYA) by 58.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,940 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,081 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Liberty Global were worth $38,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Liberty Global by 153.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 496,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,471,000 after purchasing an additional 300,126 shares during the period. ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Liberty Global during the third quarter valued at about $12,953,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Global by 2,799.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,646,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,079,000 after purchasing an additional 4,485,823 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Liberty Global by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,624,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,399,000 after buying an additional 705,780 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Liberty Global by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 37.20% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Global Price Performance

LBTYA opened at $11.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $11.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.98. Liberty Global Ltd. has a 1 year low of $10.55 and a 1 year high of $21.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $6.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $7.25. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Liberty Global had a net margin of 23.09% and a return on equity of 9.83%. Sell-side analysts predict that Liberty Global Ltd. will post -1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Liberty Global

In related news, CFO Charles H. R. Bracken sold 84,103 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.56, for a total transaction of $1,224,539.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $776,222.72. This trade represents a 61.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Nicholas V. Tompras sold 57,000 shares of Liberty Global stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.94, for a total value of $737,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $209,019.82. The trade was a 77.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on LBTYA shares. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Liberty Global from $20.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Liberty Global from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Liberty Global from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $24.70 to $12.40 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America lowered Liberty Global from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $13.10 to $12.60 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Liberty Global from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $23.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Liberty Global presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.75.

About Liberty Global

Liberty Global Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband internet, video, fixed-line telephony, and mobile communications services to residential and business customers. It offers value-added broadband services, such as WiFi features, security, anti-virus, firewall, spam protection, smart home services, online storage solutions, and web spaces; and Connect Box that delivers in-home Wi-Fi service.