Heritage Investors Management Corp Sells 3,696 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Heritage Investors Management Corp lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 406,339 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,696 shares during the quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $17,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,700,279,000 after acquiring an additional 4,347,416 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,983,225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,175 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 303.9% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,261,648,000 after acquiring an additional 37,516,167 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,475,099 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,062,750,000 after acquiring an additional 431,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,993,829 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,904,840,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,342 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $40.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.89.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm had revenue of $33.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).