GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Has $6.99 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• GLOBALT Investments LLC reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 4.7%, leaving them with a holding valued at approximately $6.99 million after selling 7,963 shares.
• VZ's recent quarterly earnings report exceeded expectations, with an EPS of $1.22 compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19, and revenue of $34.50 billion against an estimate of $33.47 billion.
• Verizon Communications has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.68 to $0.69 per share, reflecting a 7.2% dividend yield for stockholders of record.

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,475 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 7,963 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $16,700,279,000 after purchasing an additional 4,347,416 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,983,225,000 after buying an additional 1,172,175 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 303.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 37,516,167 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,475,099 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,062,750,000 after acquiring an additional 431,789 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,993,829 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,904,840,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,342 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. BNP Paribas downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $38.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $162.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.96, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.99.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.2%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.34%.

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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.