Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Washington Trust Bank

by · The Markets Daily

Washington Trust Bank increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 14.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,191 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 774 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $278,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $250,312,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 4,520.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,815,534 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $216,266,000 after purchasing an additional 4,711,309 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Verizon Communications by 18.6% in the second 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. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 37.9% during the second quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 6,973,838 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $287,601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916,951 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE VZ traded down $0.38 on Thursday, hitting $40.78. 1,374,185 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,495,580. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.15 and a 200 day moving average of $41.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.40 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a market capitalization of $171.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.43.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.678 dividend. 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 6.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

Read Our Latest Report on Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Profile

(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).

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