Northern Trust Corp Grows Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0%, owning approximately 45.48 million shares, valued at over $2 billion as of its last SEC filing.
• Verizon recently reported $1.22 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $34.5 billion, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 5.2%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, equating to an annualized dividend of $2.71 and a yield of 6.1%.

Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,475,099 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 431,789 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.08% of Verizon Communications worth $2,062,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the first quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,637,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $44.24 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The stock has a market cap of $186.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.98.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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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