Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Lowers Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System has decreased its stake in Verizon Communications by 13.1%, now holding 197,072 shares valued at approximately $8.94 million.
• Verizon reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates of $1.19, with a revenue of $34.50 billion.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Verizon, with a price target averaging $47.35 set by multiple firms.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 13.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 197,072 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 29,725 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth 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 period. FIL Ltd grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 50,414 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,016,000 after acquiring an additional 18,452 shares during the period. Faithward Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 13,623 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 1,695 shares during the period. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 255,289 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $10,209,000 after acquiring an additional 8,570 shares during the period. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 949,634 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $37,976,000 after acquiring an additional 55,003 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $42.35 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The company's fifty day moving average price is $42.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.75. 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 $178.54 billion, a PE ratio of 9.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. Verizon Communications's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. 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 6.4%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus 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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