B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Takes Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 377,323 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $16,945,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $42.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $178.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.43. 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 50 day moving average of $43.02 and a 200 day moving average of $41.47. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.20 and a twelve month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.42 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.37.

About Verizon Communications

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).