Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by RNC Capital Management LLC

RNC Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 279.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,117 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,389 shares during the quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 222.2% during the second quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $39.86 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.01. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The company has a market cap of $168.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.29, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 64.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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).