Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stock Holdings Boosted by Andra AP fonden

Andra AP fonden grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,317,600 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 199,700 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for 0.8% of Andra AP fonden’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $57,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.3% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 23,397 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,061,000 after buying an additional 2,555 shares in the last quarter. Trek Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $404,000. CORDA Investment Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 804,259 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $36,481,000 after acquiring an additional 9,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 29.0% in the 1st quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 400,898 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $18,185,000 after acquiring an additional 90,193 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $39.72 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $42.03 and its 200-day moving average is $42.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $167.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on VZ. Morgan Stanley upped 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. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications 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).