Ascent Group LLC Invests $320,000 in PLDT Inc. $PHI

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC acquired 14,640 shares of PLDT Inc. during the 1st quarter, investing approximately $320,000 in the company.
• PLDT announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.8414, an increase from the previous $0.81, indicating a strong commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• Recent analyst reports show a downgrade from UBS Group and Wall Street Zen, leading to a consensus rating of "Reduce" for PLDT shares.

Ascent Group LLC bought a new position in PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 14,640 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PLDT in the 1st quarter worth about $5,891,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of PLDT by 1,189.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 138,992 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,079,000 after acquiring an additional 128,213 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of PLDT by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 120,974 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,646,000 after acquiring an additional 15,610 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PLDT by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 120,757 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,641,000 after acquiring an additional 10,505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PLDT by 47.0% in the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 63,008 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,378,000 after acquiring an additional 20,132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 2.26% of the company's stock.

PLDT Price Performance

NYSE PHI remained flat at $19.51 during trading on Monday. 134,550 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 76,134. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.44. PLDT Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.22 and a 1-year high of $27.93.

PLDT Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be given a $0.8414 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 530.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 27th. This is an increase from PLDT's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.81. PLDT's payout ratio is presently 47.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on PHI. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PLDT from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. UBS Group downgraded shares of PLDT from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of PLDT to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce".

About PLDT

PLDT Inc provides telecommunications and digital services in the Philippines. The company operates through three segments: Wireless, Fixed Line, and Others. It offers cellular mobile, Internet broadband distribution, operations support, software development, and satellite information and messaging services; and sells Wi-Fi access equipment.