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

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications by 14.7%, selling 78,098 shares, resulting in a remaining ownership of 451,892 shares worth $20,498,000.
• Verizon recently reported Q2 earnings with an EPS of $1.22, exceeding expectations, and revenue of $34.50 billion—a 5.2% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $2.71 and a yield of 6.3%.

Scotia Capital Inc. cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 14.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 451,892 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 78,098 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $20,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 22,682 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $907,000 after purchasing an additional 3,091 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 242,280 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $9,689,000 after purchasing an additional 18,115 shares during the period. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,488 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194 shares during the period. Finally, Polymer Capital Management US LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $402,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $42.84 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $180.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.99, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.17%.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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