Marco Investment Management LLC Has $3.33 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Marco Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 80,743 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,463 shares during the period. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,267,175 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,739,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,963 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $1,882,164,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% during the 4th 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 during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,458,264 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $678,739,000 after acquiring an additional 104,447 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 2.1 %

VZ opened at $43.62 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 99.25%.

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).