Prudential PLC Sells 73,261 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC has reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 16.1% during the first quarter, selling 73,261 shares, and now holds 380,729 shares valued at $17.27 million.
• Verizon's recent financial performance showed a 5.2% increase in revenue year-over-year, reporting $34.50 billion for the quarter and earnings per share of $1.22, surpassing expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, translating to an annual yield of 6.3%, with a payout ratio of 63.17%.

Prudential PLC reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 16.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 380,729 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 73,261 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $17,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $381,000. Meyer Handelman Co. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $50,393,000 after purchasing an additional 76,083 shares during the last quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.8% during the 1st quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,079,000 after purchasing an additional 107,200 shares during the last quarter. Welch Group LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $51,126,000 after purchasing an additional 63,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $14,100,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.36. The business's fifty day moving average is $42.67 and its 200 day moving average is $42.88.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank raised their target price 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. Bank of America raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. 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 issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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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