AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV)

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 106,347 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,724 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Telefônica Brasil were worth $873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 2,821.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,214 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 3,104 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Telefônica Brasil during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $83,000. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. purchased a new position in Telefônica Brasil during the second quarter valued at approximately $85,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Telefônica Brasil in the first quarter worth approximately $123,000. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 22.2% in the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 18,459 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 3,358 shares in the last quarter. 5.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Telefônica Brasil Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of VIV stock opened at $9.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $15.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Telefônica Brasil S.A. has a 52 week low of $8.02 and a 52 week high of $11.43.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14. Telefônica Brasil had a return on equity of 7.53% and a net margin of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Telefônica Brasil S.A. will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Telefônica Brasil Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a — dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a $0.0379 dividend. This represents a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Telefônica Brasil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VIV. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Telefônica Brasil from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Telefônica Brasil from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Telefônica Brasil from $9.20 to $10.40 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Telefônica Brasil currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.97.

Telefônica Brasil Company Profile

Telefônica Brasil SA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a mobile telecommunications company in Brazil. Its fixed line services portfolio includes local, domestic long-distance, and international long-distance calls; and mobile portfolio comprises voice and broadband internet access through 3G, 4G, 4.5G, and 5G, as well as mobile value-added and wireless roaming services.