Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by Tredje AP fonden

Tredje AP fonden raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,537,594 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 96,465 shares during the quarter. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $63,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Seven research 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.66.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 2.0 %

VZ opened at $44.10 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $185.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $45.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.29 and a 200-day moving average of $40.71.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.678 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.15%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

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).