Credit Agricole S A Sells 1,507,344 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

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Credit Agricole S A cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 47.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,640,346 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 1,507,344 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $74,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $292,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $231,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 741,766 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $29,663,000 after acquiring an additional 117,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optivise Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,851 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 2,141 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

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

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

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).

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