Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 952,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,807 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $41,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 68,641 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,114,000 after acquiring an additional 8,800 shares during the last quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $249,000. First Merchants Corp grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 16.9% in the first quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 28,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 4,192 shares during the period. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its position in Verizon Communications by 3.9% during the first quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 7,883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

VZ stock opened at $38.83 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.97. The company has a market cap of $163.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.41.

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).