Telefonica SA (NYSE:TEF) Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Telefonica SA by 12.3%, now holding 367,214 shares valued at approximately $1.7 million.
• Telefonica recently announced a semi-annual dividend increase to $0.1703, representing a yield of 450.0%, compared to the previous dividend of $0.16.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.08, meeting analyst expectations, with revenues of $10.28 billion exceeding forecasts.

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Telefonica SA (NYSE:TEF - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 367,214 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 51,629 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Telefonica were worth $1,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Telefonica by 71.6% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,236 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 2,603 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Telefonica by 50.4% in the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 10,031 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 3,361 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 4,419 shares in the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC acquired a new stake in Telefonica in the 1st quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in Telefonica in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. 1.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on TEF. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Telefonica in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. DZ Bank cut shares of Telefonica from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Telefonica to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Telefonica presently has an average rating of "Hold".

Telefonica Stock Performance

TEF traded up $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.47. 336,308 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 679,955. Telefonica SA has a 1 year low of $3.89 and a 1 year high of $5.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.51. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $5.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.87.

Telefonica (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08. Telefonica had a negative net margin of 5.88% and a positive return on equity of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $10.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.03 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Telefonica SA will post 0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Telefonica Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.1703 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 450.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This is a positive change from Telefonica's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.16. Telefonica's dividend payout ratio is -52.08%.

Telefonica Profile

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.