Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,627,446 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 98,210 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $73,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Finer Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Finer Wealth Management Inc. now owns 54,744 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 2,384 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,187,043 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $280,644,000 after purchasing an additional 291,543 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 40.1% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 852,781 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $38,682,000 after purchasing an additional 243,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 75.6% during the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 135,515 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $6,147,000 after purchasing an additional 58,348 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Verizon Communications Price Performance
Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.18 on Tuesday. 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. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $42.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.88. The company has a market cap of $182.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.36.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business 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 business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued 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 6.3%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 63.17%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
VZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications Company Profile
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Free Report)
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).
Further Reading
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