Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 12.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,633,936 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 816,721 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.18% of Verizon Communications worth $346,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WealthPLAN Partners LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC now owns 99,673 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,521,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431 shares during the last quarter. Accuvest Global Advisors acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $581,000. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,102 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 20.2% during the first quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 44,330 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,011,000 after buying an additional 7,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Barn Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 12,939 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $42.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $178.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.75.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid 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 6.4%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on VZ. Bank of America lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

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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