Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Position Boosted by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the second quarter, ending with 564,909 shares valued at approximately $23.9 million.
• Verizon recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.68 to $0.69 per share, reflecting a yield of 7.0% on an annualized basis.
• The company's stock is currently experiencing a downturn, down 2.4%, with a PE ratio of 9.17 and an average target price of $47.41 from analysts.

Ethic Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 564,909 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 8,807 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $23,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $39.32 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. 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 company has a market cap of $165.78 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.04.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

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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