Aberdeen Group plc Sells 595,679 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Aberdeen Group plc reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,721,954 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 595,679 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $214,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 21,693 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $868,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 568.3% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 35,273 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 29,995 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 26,642 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 590,590 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $23,618,000 after purchasing an additional 33,845 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.4%

VZ opened at $43.52 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.14, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.35.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).