First Trust Advisors LP Increases Stake in Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF)

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF - Free Report) by 36.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 963,584 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 258,489 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Telefónica were worth $3,874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Telefónica in the 3rd quarter valued at about $160,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Telefónica by 20.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 178,271 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 30,738 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Telefónica in the 3rd quarter valued at about $121,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Telefónica by 293.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 35,412 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 26,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Telefónica by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 18,975 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 2,936 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 1.14% of the company's stock.

Telefónica Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE TEF traded down $0.09 on Thursday, reaching $4.99. The company had a trading volume of 223,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 689,032. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company's fifty day moving average is $4.71 and its 200 day moving average is $4.43. Telefónica, S.A. has a 52-week low of $3.89 and a 52-week high of $5.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.19 and a beta of 0.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on TEF shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Telefónica in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Telefónica from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Telefónica 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.