Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Private Wealth Partners LLC

Private Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 45,609 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,048,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $250,312,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4,520.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,815,534 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $216,266,000 after acquiring an additional 4,711,309 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 112.6% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 6,574,910 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $273,507,000 after acquiring an additional 3,481,936 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 18.6% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,016,271 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $536,791,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $287,601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916,951 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE VZ opened at $41.36 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $174.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.31 and a 52 week high of $45.36.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.56%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.37.

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).