Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

Key Points

• DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 11.0%, owning approximately 7.3 million shares valued at $309.5 million as of the latest quarter.
• Verizon announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.69 per share, representing a 6.8% annual yield, with the payment date set for November 3rd.
• Analysts have given Verizon a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $47.63, following several recent upgrades from different financial institutions.

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,297,469 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 722,559 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned approximately 0.17% of Verizon Communications worth $309,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 14.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 68,641 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,114,000 after purchasing an additional 8,800 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $1,000,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, TT Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 57.6% in the first quarter. TT Capital Management LLC now owns 45,999 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,087,000 after purchasing an additional 16,818 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $40.56 on Monday. 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 $43.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.07. The firm has a market cap of $170.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.37. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.34%.

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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