Keybank National Association OH Decreases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Keybank National Association OH decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 650,813 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,072 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $28,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its position in Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $38.96 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $164.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The company had revenue of $33.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.1%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.97%.

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).