Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 1,741 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 328,499 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,741 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $13,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 105,433 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,975,000 after purchasing an additional 3,054 shares in the last quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $749,000. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 24,158 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 20,152 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $760,000 after acquiring an additional 5,082 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 818,841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,870,000 after acquiring an additional 99,403 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of VZ traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $41.78. The stock had a trading volume of 20,009,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,351,631. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.83 and a 200 day moving average of $40.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $175.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.37%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.78.

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).