Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by AMF Tjanstepension AB

AMF Tjanstepension AB lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,697,109 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 59,343 shares during the quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $77,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the first quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st 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. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NCM Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 18,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $735,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:VZ opened at $42.94 on Friday. 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 quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $42.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.01, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid 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 payout ratio is 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).

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