Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Sells 11,030 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2%, selling 11,030 shares, resulting in ownership of 929,027 shares, valued at approximately $40.2 million.
• Several institutional investors, such as Kestra Investment Management and Cadinha & Co. LLC, significantly increased their stakes in Verizon, indicating a growing confidence in the company.
• Verizon announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.69, representing a 7.1% yield, with a new payout ratio of 64.34%.

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 929,027 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 11,030 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 0.8% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $40,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 121.8% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $8,007,000 after acquiring an additional 96,931 shares in the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2,916.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 347,716 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $15,046,000 after acquiring an additional 336,190 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 7,297,469 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $309,551,000 after acquiring an additional 722,559 shares in the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $2,799,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 205,416 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $8,888,000 after acquiring an additional 39,445 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. 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 report on Tuesday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ traded up $0.43 on Friday, reaching $38.83. The company had a trading volume of 27,455,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,833,092. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.96. The company has a market cap of $163.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. 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).

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