Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Andra AP fonden

Andra AP fonden lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 906,100 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 90,600 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 0.6% of Andra AP fonden’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $37,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,267,175 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,739,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,963 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $1,882,164,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $851,989,000 after acquiring an additional 10,882,873 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after acquiring an additional 12,220,777 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,458,264 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $678,739,000 after purchasing an additional 104,447 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $42.72 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.54. The company has a market capitalization of $179.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.35%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

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).