Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Telefonica SA (NYSE:TEF)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Telefonica SA (NYSE:TEF) by 13.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,237 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Telefonica were worth $185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Telefonica in the fourth quarter valued at $1,022,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Telefonica by 383.0% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 259,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 205,558 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Telefonica by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 391,277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,573,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Telefonica during the 4th quarter valued at about $304,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Telefonica by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,429,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,747,000 after purchasing an additional 66,797 shares during the period. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on TEF shares. Berenberg Bank upgraded Telefonica to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. DZ Bank lowered Telefonica from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Telefonica in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Telefonica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Telefonica Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of TEF stock opened at $5.22 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Telefonica SA has a fifty-two week low of $3.89 and a fifty-two week high of $5.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.69.

Telefonica (NYSE:TEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.08. The company had revenue of $9.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.06 billion. Telefonica had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a positive return on equity of 9.30%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Telefonica SA will post 0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telefonica Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.1703 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 4.5%. This is a positive change from Telefonica’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Telefonica’s dividend payout ratio is -65.79%.

About Telefonica

Telefónica, SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunications services in Europe and Latin America. The company offers mobile and related services and products, such as mobile voice, value added, mobile data and internet, wholesale, corporate, roaming, fixed wireless, and trunking and paging services.