Aberdeen Group plc Acquires 37,899 Shares of Telefonica Brasil S.A. $VIV

Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in shares of Telefonica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,949,455 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,899 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.18% of Telefonica Brasil worth $34,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Telefonica Brasil by 337.7% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,233 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 3,266 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Telefonica Brasil during the first quarter worth approximately $52,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 214.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,766 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 3,248 shares in the last quarter. Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Telefonica Brasil during the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Telefonica Brasil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $110,000. 5.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VIV. Weiss Ratings raised Telefonica Brasil from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research upgraded Telefonica Brasil from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Telefonica Brasil in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price target on Telefonica Brasil from $12.50 to $15.30 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Barclays downgraded Telefonica Brasil from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $14.50 to $16.00 in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Telefonica Brasil currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.98.

Telefonica Brasil Price Performance

VIV opened at $16.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.08 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business’s 50-day moving average is $15.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.52. Telefonica Brasil S.A. has a 1 year low of $8.19 and a 1 year high of $16.95.

Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter. Telefonica Brasil had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 9.15%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter. Research analysts anticipate that Telefonica Brasil S.A. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telefonica Brasil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 21st. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.4562 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. Telefonica Brasil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.29%.

About Telefonica Brasil

Telefônica Brasil SA, commonly marketed under the Vivo brand, is one of Brazil’s largest telecommunications providers, offering a broad range of consumer and enterprise communications services. The company’s core activities include mobile voice and data services, fixed-line telephony, broadband internet (including fiber-to-the-home), and pay-TV solutions. It also provides ICT and managed services for business customers, such as cloud, data center, connectivity, Internet of Things (IoT) and security solutions.

Vivo operates a nationwide network across Brazil and serves both individual consumers and corporate clients.