Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Sit Investment Associates Inc.

Key Points

• Sit Investment Associates Inc. has reduced its stake in Verizon Communications by 23.2%, selling 56,105 shares, which has left the firm with a holding valued at $8.45 million.
• Several analysts have recently increased their price targets for Verizon, with Scotiabank and JPMorgan Chase & Co. raising theirs to $49.00, indicating a generally positive outlook for the stock.
• Verizon announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, paying that on August 1st, which equates to an annual yield of 6.2%.

Sit Investment Associates Inc. lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 23.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 186,175 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 56,105 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the first quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. now owns 45,188 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 303.9% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,261,648,000 after buying an additional 37,516,167 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 18.4% in the first quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 54,103 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,454,000 after buying an additional 8,396 shares during the last quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 68.4% in the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,897 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 2,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 125,381 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $5,687,000 after buying an additional 6,273 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on VZ. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price target 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.52 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $42.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.91. The firm has a market cap of $183.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 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 (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 firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications'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 year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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 yield of 6.2%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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).

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