Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Stock Position in PLDT Inc. $PHI

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PLDT Inc. (NYSE:PHI) by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,561 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,815 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in PLDT were worth $709,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in PLDT during the second quarter worth about $489,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in PLDT by 106.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 53,776 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,176,000 after buying an additional 27,769 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in PLDT by 227.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 77,493 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,695,000 after buying an additional 53,861 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC acquired a new stake in PLDT during the first quarter worth about $320,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of PLDT by 47.0% in the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 63,008 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,378,000 after purchasing an additional 20,132 shares during the period. 2.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PHI. Zacks Research upgraded PLDT to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. UBS Group cut PLDT from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of PLDT in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

PLDT Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PHI opened at $19.03 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.35, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.37. PLDT Inc. has a one year low of $18.61 and a one year high of $26.38. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.79.

PLDT Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th were paid a dividend of $0.8414 per share. This is a boost from PLDT’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 27th. This represents a yield of 530.0%. PLDT’s payout ratio is 47.10%.

PLDT Profile

PLDT Inc provides telecommunications and digital services in the Philippines. The company operates through three segments: Wireless, Fixed Line, and Others. It offers cellular mobile, Internet broadband distribution, operations support, software development, and satellite information and messaging services; and sells Wi-Fi access equipment.