Liberty Global PLC $LILAK Shares Bought by UBS Group AG

UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Global PLC (NASDAQ:LILAK) by 45.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 462,282 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 144,521 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Liberty Global were worth $3,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Liberty Global during the second quarter worth $30,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in Liberty Global during the third quarter worth $50,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Liberty Global by 85.9% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 8,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 3,934 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. acquired a new position in Liberty Global during the fourth quarter worth $78,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Liberty Global by 33.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 3,150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Liberty Global news, CEO Balan Nair bought 20,000 shares of Liberty Global stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.07 per share, for a total transaction of $161,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,125,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,219,064.73. This trade represents a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 9.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Liberty Global Price Performance

NASDAQ:LILAK opened at $8.03 on Monday. Liberty Global PLC has a 52 week low of $4.89 and a 52 week high of $9.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.78. The company has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.24 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $8.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.07.

Shares of Liberty Global are set to split on Monday, June 1st. The 11-10 split was recently announced. The newly issued shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Sunday, May 31st.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.15). Liberty Global had a negative net margin of 11.20% and a negative return on equity of 43.70%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LILAK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liberty Global in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Liberty Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $8.20.

Liberty Global Profile

Liberty Global plc is a leading international telecommunications and television company, offering video, broadband Internet, fixed-line and mobile services to residential and business customers. Headquartered in London and operating as an ADR on the NASDAQ under the ticker LILAK, the company focuses on developing advanced broadband networks and delivering entertainment and connectivity solutions across Europe.

The company’s core products include high-speed cable broadband, digital and interactive television, fixed-line telephony, and mobile services.