Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 75.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 135,515 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,348 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sargent Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, NCM Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 18,390 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.12 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $42.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.85.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications 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).