Bank of Jackson Hole Trust Has $364,000 Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Bank of Jackson Hole Trust raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 29.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,417 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,906 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 141.6% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 36,139 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,564,000 after buying an additional 21,180 shares during the period. Winebrenner Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.1% during the second quarter. Winebrenner Capital Management LLC now owns 17,620 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 2,180 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.7% during the second quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,653 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the period. Redmond Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.3% during the second quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 55,177 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,388,000 after buying an additional 3,252 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Markets Cayman LP acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $16,256,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $39.38 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $42.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. BNP Paribas Exane cut Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. BNP Paribas cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

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).