Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda Cuts Stock Holdings in Telefonica Brasil S.A. $VIV

Key Points

• Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda cut its Telefonica Brasil stake by 65.2% in the first quarter, selling 231,399 shares and leaving it with 123,667 shares valued at about $1.97 million.
• Institutional ownership remains notable, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 5.16% of the company’s stock; several firms recently added to their positions while others trimmed or initiated stakes.
• Wall Street sentiment is cautious: analysts have issued more Hold and Sell ratings than Buys, and the consensus view is currently “Reduce” with a price target of $14.16.

Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda reduced its stake in Telefonica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV - Free Report) by 65.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 123,667 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock after selling 231,399 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda's holdings in Telefonica Brasil were worth $1,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 17,145,564 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $203,346,000 after acquiring an additional 145,449 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Telefonica Brasil in the 4th quarter worth about $446,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Telefonica Brasil by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 190,168 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $2,259,000 after purchasing an additional 39,782 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,949,455 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $34,981,000 after buying an additional 37,899 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Telefonica Brasil by 41.2% during the first quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 150,583 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $2,290,000 after buying an additional 43,939 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VIV. Weiss Ratings lowered Telefonica Brasil from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Telefonica Brasil from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Telefonica Brasil in a research note on Monday, May 18th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $13.90 target price on the stock. Barclays set a $15.50 target price on shares of Telefonica Brasil and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Bradesco Corretora cut shares of Telefonica Brasil to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $14.16.

Telefonica Brasil Price Performance

Shares of VIV stock opened at $14.04 on Tuesday. Telefonica Brasil S.A. has a twelve month low of $10.79 and a twelve month high of $17.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.56.

Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.02). Telefonica Brasil had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 9.32%. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. On average, analysts predict that Telefonica Brasil S.A. will post 0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telefonica Brasil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a $0.4562 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. Telefonica Brasil's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.84%.

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.

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