Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by D.A. Davidson & CO.

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson & Co. raised its stake in Verizon by 8.4% in Q3, buying 43,116 shares to hold 555,785 shares worth about $24.43M, and institutional investors now own 62.06% of VZ with large positions from Vanguard, State Street and a new Norges Bank stake (~$2.5B).
• Verizon reported Q3 EPS of $1.21, narrowly beating the $1.19 consensus while revenue was $33.82B (up 1.5% YoY) but slightly below the $34.19B estimate.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.69 (annualized $2.76), implying a 6.8% yield with an ex‑dividend date of Jan 12, and VZ trades at a P/E of 8.65 with a consensus target price of $47.47 (average rating: Moderate Buy).

D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 555,785 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 43,116 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $24,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $16,130,494,000 after buying an additional 4,615,075 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 208,213,255 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $9,009,388,000 after acquiring an additional 4,205,449 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 100,326,792 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,322,700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101,504 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,504,150,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,993,829 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,904,840,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,342 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $40.46 on Monday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $40.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.94. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The firm has a market cap of $170.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings cut Verizon Communications from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.47.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc NYSE: VZ is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company's consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.

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