Sienna Gestion Decreases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Sienna Gestion reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.2%, selling 19,937 shares and bringing its total ownership to 224,389 shares valued at approximately $9.89 million.
• Several large investors, including Sargent Investment Group LLC and Bernard Wealth Management Corp., have made adjustments to their holdings in Verizon, with an overall institutional ownership of 62.06%.
• Verizon reported a quarterly earnings of $1.22 EPS, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $34.50 billion, reflecting a 5.2% year-over-year growth.

Sienna Gestion reduced its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 8.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 224,389 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 19,937 shares during the quarter. Sienna Gestion's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the first quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. now owns 45,188 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 303.9% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,261,648,000 after purchasing an additional 37,516,167 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 18.4% during the first quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 54,103 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,454,000 after purchasing an additional 8,396 shares during the period. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 68.4% during the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,897 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 2,802 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 125,381 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $5,687,000 after purchasing an additional 6,273 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $43.52. 10,580,268 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,830,672. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.91. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. 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 cap of $183.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

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).