Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Raises Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.9%, now owning 914,217 shares valued at approximately $41.47 million.
• Verizon's quarterly earnings exceeded estimates, reporting $1.22 EPS and $34.50 billion in revenue, with a net margin of 13.28%.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, translating to an annual yield of 6.28%.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 914,217 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 8,533 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $41,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank boosted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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 that occurred 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 directly owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.02 on Friday, hitting $43.10. The stock had a trading volume of 16,557,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,882,436. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $181.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.37. The company's 50 day moving average price is $42.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.51.

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. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%. The firm's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

About Verizon Communications

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).