Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Arjuna Capital

Arjuna Capital trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 40.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,078 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 34,711 shares during the period. Arjuna Capital's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $16,700,279,000 after purchasing an additional 4,347,416 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,983,225,000 after buying an additional 1,172,175 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $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 raised its position in 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 buying an additional 4,568,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 36,851,192 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,473,557,000 after buying an additional 990,775 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $42.35 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $178.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.71 and a 200-day moving average of $42.75.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

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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