L & S Advisors Inc Takes Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• L & S Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications, purchasing 84,113 shares valued at approximately $3.8 million during the first quarter.
• Verizon recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775, resulting in an annualized yield of 6.3% with a payout ratio of 63.17%.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Verizon, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 84,113 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $3,815,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 10,300,369 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $357,398,000 after purchasing an additional 8,695,736 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $792,937,000 after purchasing an additional 6,846,514 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,801,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,951,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,893,487 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,555,351,000 after purchasing an additional 4,568,518 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.84 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.75 and a 200 day moving average of $42.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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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