Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ is Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd.'s 8th Largest Position

Key Points

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Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 17.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,339,047 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 347,686 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for 2.5% of Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Verizon Communications worth $106,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $381,000. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the first quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $50,393,000 after acquiring an additional 76,083 shares during the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $2,799,000. Rempart Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 52.8% during the first quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,079,000 after buying an additional 107,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.9% during the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $51,126,000 after buying an additional 63,474 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $44.37 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $42.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.01. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $187.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.34, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 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 yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VZ. Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.35.

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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