Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Holdings Lifted by GQG Partners LLC

GQG Partners LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 303.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 37,516,167 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 3.6% of GQG Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. GQG Partners LLC owned about 1.18% of Verizon Communications worth $2,261,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $16,700,279,000 after acquiring an additional 4,347,416 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,172,175 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 4,951,733 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 13.3% in the fourth 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 valued at $1,555,351,000 after acquiring an additional 4,568,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 36,851,192 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,473,557,000 after acquiring an additional 990,775 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased 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 note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $43.25 on Wednesday. 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 market capitalization of $182.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.36. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $42.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.88. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

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