Motley Fool Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 38,203 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,827,000.
A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 265,904,768 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,074,340,000 after purchasing an additional 2,236,290 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,749,993 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,580,337,000 after acquiring an additional 6,007,544 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,135,441 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,172,530,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,685 shares during the period. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,390,896 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,132,221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,691 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 14,115,327 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $747,124,000 after acquiring an additional 729,841 shares during the period. 63.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Get Verizon Communications alerts:In related news, SVP Anthony T. Skiadas sold 1,974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.44, for a total value of $97,594.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $794,006.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 25th. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 30th. Vetr upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $53.82 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 20th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $56.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $54.62.
Shares of Verizon Communications opened at $50.70 on Thursday, according to MarketBeat.com. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $42.80 and a one year high of $54.77.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $31.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.25 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 24.37% and a return on equity of 42.62%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 10th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 63.10%.
About Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, offers communications, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental agencies worldwide. The company's Wireless segment provides wireless voice and data services; Internet access on various notebook computers and tablets; multimedia, business-focused, and location-based services, as well as international travel services; and network access services to deliver various Internet of Things products and services.
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