Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

Key Points

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BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S cut its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 8.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,631,283 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 156,008 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up 0.8% of BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $73,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Sargent Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,637,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.3%

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

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 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 business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

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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