Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 2,745,209 Shares of CommScope Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COMM)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of CommScope Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COMM) by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,076,845 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,745,209 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 17.48% of CommScope worth $124,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in shares of CommScope by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 25,878 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213 shares during the last quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in CommScope by 2.0% in the second quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 66,552 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,331 shares during the last quarter. Vident Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in CommScope by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Vident Investment Advisory LLC now owns 46,963 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 2,318 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of CommScope by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 192,899 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,418,000 after acquiring an additional 2,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CommScope by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 26,968 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,824 shares during the period. 88.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at CommScope

In other news, Director L William Krause purchased 57,300 shares of CommScope stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1.59 per share, with a total value of $91,107.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 227,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,318.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CommScope Stock Performance

Shares of COMM stock opened at $1.23 on Wednesday. CommScope Holding Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $0.89 and a 52 week high of $6.65. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $1.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.16. The company has a market capitalization of $261.06 million, a P/E ratio of -0.17 and a beta of 1.98.

CommScope (NASDAQ:COMM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. CommScope had a negative return on equity of 7.18% and a negative net margin of 21.64%. Analysts forecast that CommScope Holding Company, Inc. will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on COMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of CommScope in a report on Monday, March 4th. Northland Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of CommScope in a research report on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of CommScope from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of CommScope from $2.00 to $1.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CommScope presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $4.27.

About CommScope

CommScope Holding Company, Inc provides infrastructure solutions for communications, data center, and entertainment networks worldwide. The company operates through Connectivity and Cable Solutions (CCS); Outdoor Wireless Networks (OWN); Networking, Intelligent Cellular and Security Solutions (NICS), and Access Network Solutions (ANS) segments.