WINTON GROUP Ltd Increases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 97.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 62,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,542 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Advantage Trust Co grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 222.2% during the second quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, 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 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.0%

VZ opened at $41.28 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The stock has a market cap of $174.03 billion, a PE ratio of 8.82, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a 50 day moving average of $40.70 and a 200-day moving average of $42.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.97%.

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).