Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) Director John Malone Buys 12,406,463 Shares of Stock

Liberty Global PLC (NASDAQ:LILAK) Director John Malone acquired 12,406,463 shares of Liberty Global stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.63 per share, with a total value of $107,067,775.69. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 21,173,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,723,145.34. This represents a 141.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Liberty Global Stock Performance

LILAK opened at $8.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of -3.23 and a beta of 0.72. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.06. Liberty Global PLC has a fifty-two week low of $4.89 and a fifty-two week high of $9.13.

Liberty Global’s stock is scheduled to split on the morning of Monday, June 1st. The 11-10 split was recently announced. The newly issued shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Sunday, May 31st.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Global

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,287,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,869,000 after buying an additional 253,169 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Global during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,110,000. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 899.7% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 1,093,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,228,000 after buying an additional 983,944 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Global during the 3rd quarter valued at $760,000. Finally, Oaktree Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 186.4% during the 3rd quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 6,669,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,293,000 after buying an additional 4,341,307 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on LILAK. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liberty Global in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Liberty Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.20.

About Liberty Global

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.