Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Has $22.36 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.5%, owning 516,737 shares valued at approximately $22.36 million as of the end of the most recent quarter.
• Verizon Communications reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.22, exceeding analysts' expectations, alongside a quarterly revenue of $34.5 billion.
• The company is set to increase its quarterly dividend from $0.68 to $0.69, providing an annual yield of approximately 6.9%.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 1.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 516,737 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 7,453 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $22,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 303.9% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,261,648,000 after buying an additional 37,516,167 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $661,720,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 737.5% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 10,300,369 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 301.2% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,504,920 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $385,750,000 after purchasing an additional 6,385,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 20.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 31,626,373 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,434,572,000 after purchasing an additional 5,392,416 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $40.29 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.12 and a 200-day moving average of $43.04. 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 $169.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

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).

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