Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is Credit Capital Investments LLC's 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Credit Capital Investments LLC has reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications by 19.7%, making the stock its second largest position at about 10.7% of its investment portfolio.
• Verizon recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.22, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.19, with a revenue increase of 5.2% year-over-year.
• Verizon Communications declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6775, reflecting an annualized yield of 6.3% with a payout ratio of 63.17%.

Credit Capital Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 19.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 137,300 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 33,650 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up about 10.7% of Credit Capital Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Credit Capital Investments LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,801,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,951,733 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,893,487 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,555,351,000 after acquiring an additional 4,568,518 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 36,851,192 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,473,557,000 after purchasing an additional 990,775 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Verizon Communications by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,418,052 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,096,447,000 after buying an additional 1,348,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $792,937,000 after buying an additional 6,846,514 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $42.84 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average is $42.75 and its 200 day moving average is $42.72. The stock has a market cap of $180.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 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 6.3%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 63.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VZ shares. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of 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. raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target 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, Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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