Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Bellecapital International Ltd.

by · The Cerbat Gem

Bellecapital International Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 8.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,857 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,958 shares during the period. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $250,312,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 112.6% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 6,574,910 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $273,507,000 after purchasing an additional 3,481,936 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,016,271 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $536,791,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040,247 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 37.9% in the second quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 6,973,838 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $287,601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916,951 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 153.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,806,221 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $115,729,000 after buying an additional 1,700,619 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.31.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.5 %

Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $43.78. The company had a trading volume of 4,237,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,346,600. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $42.94 and its 200-day moving average is $41.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.26 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.19%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.12%.

About Verizon Communications

(Free Report)

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).

Read More

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VZ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report).