Level 3 Communications, Inc. (LVLT) Shares Sold by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. cut its stake in Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE:LVLT) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,151 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 210 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Level 3 Communications were worth $365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Architects Inc increased its stake in Level 3 Communications by 0.8% in the first quarter. Financial Architects Inc now owns 8,354 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Level 3 Communications by 24.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 31,535 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,805,000 after buying an additional 6,122 shares during the period. ARP Americas LLC increased its stake in Level 3 Communications by 14.6% in the first quarter. ARP Americas LLC now owns 128,385 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,346,000 after buying an additional 16,392 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in Level 3 Communications during the first quarter worth $1,178,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Level 3 Communications by 7.4% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 66,742 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,819,000 after buying an additional 4,585 shares during the period.

Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NYSE:LVLT) opened at 52.69 on Friday. Level 3 Communications, Inc. has a one year low of $44.01 and a one year high of $64.61. The company’s 50-day moving average is $57.57 and its 200 day moving average is $58.65. The company has a market capitalization of $19.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.97 and a beta of 1.23.

Level 3 Communications (NYSE:LVLT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The technology company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.03. Level 3 Communications had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 5.80%. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. Level 3 Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Level 3 Communications, Inc. will post $1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

LVLT has been the topic of a number of research reports. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Level 3 Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 24th. UBS AG restated a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 target price (down from $71.00) on shares of Level 3 Communications in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Barclays PLC restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $59.00 target price (down from $61.00) on shares of Level 3 Communications in a report on Friday, July 14th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Level 3 Communications from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Group LLC reduced their target price on shares of Level 3 Communications from $64.00 to $59.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.36.

In other Level 3 Communications news, VP Sunit S. Patel sold 16,653 shares of Level 3 Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.10, for a total transaction of $984,192.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 545,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,229,003. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric Mortensen sold 1,189 shares of Level 3 Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.10, for a total transaction of $70,269.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 77,944 shares in the company, valued at $4,606,490.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,224 shares of company stock worth $1,668,038 over the last ninety days. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Level 3 Communications Company Profile

Level 3 Communications, Inc is a provider of a range of integrated communications services. The Company’s operating segments include North America, EMEA and Latin America. The North America includes operations in Atlanta, Georgia; Littleton, Colorado; Miami, Florida; Montreal, Canada; New York, New York; Phoenix, Arizona; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Southfield, Michigan, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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