Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Acquires 24,088 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

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Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 697,877 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 24,088 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $31,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $44.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36. The company's 50-day moving average is $42.69 and its 200-day moving average is $43.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.17%.

Verizon Communications 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).

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