Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 21,611 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,557,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 21,611 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $68,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advantage Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $30,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 222.2% in the 2nd 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 and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $39.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.51 billion, a PE ratio of 8.44, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 58.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.00.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.