Whittier Trust Co. Lowers Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Whittier Trust Co. reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. by 59.3% in the second quarter, now owning 88,916 shares valued at $3.847 million.
• Verizon reported earnings of $1.22 per share for the recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue increasing by 5.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.69 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 6.9%, to be paid on November 3rd.

Whittier Trust Co. decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 59.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 88,916 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 129,576 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Lafayette Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.3% in the second quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 17,602 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares during the period. Klingman & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 78.9% in the second quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 8,809 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,886 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 14,706.1% in the second quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 65,295 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 64,854 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.1% in the second quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 29,343 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 3,170 shares during the period. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the second quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 14,368 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.3%

VZ stock opened at $40.29 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The company's 50 day moving average is $43.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.04. The stock has a market cap of $169.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.39, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 64.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several recent research 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 note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock 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 assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

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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