Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 179,119 Shares of Telefonica SA (NYSE:TEF)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Telefonica SA (NYSE:TEF - Free Report) by 65.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 454,853 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 179,119 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Telefonica were worth $2,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Telefonica by 71.6% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,236 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 2,603 shares in the last quarter. Prospect Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Telefonica during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Telefonica by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 11,635 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 4,419 shares during the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC bought a new position in Telefonica during the first quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in Telefonica in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. 1.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TEF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. DZ Bank lowered Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Telefonica to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Telefonica in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Telefonica Price Performance

NYSE:TEF traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $5.26. 474,906 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 650,069. The company has a market cap of $29.80 billion, a PE ratio of -13.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.46. Telefonica SA has a 12-month low of $3.89 and a 12-month high of $5.48. The business's 50-day moving average price is $5.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.72. 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 (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08. The business had revenue of $9.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.06 billion. Telefonica had a positive return on equity of 9.30% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. On average, analysts expect that Telefonica SA will post 0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telefonica Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a dividend of $0.1703 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a yield of 4.5%. This is a boost from Telefonica's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.16. Telefonica's dividend payout ratio is presently -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.