Ledyard National Bank Has $558,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Ledyard National Bank reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,891 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,747 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,700,279,000 after buying an additional 4,347,416 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,983,225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,175 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 303.9% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,261,648,000 after acquiring an additional 37,516,167 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,475,099 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,062,750,000 after acquiring an additional 431,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,993,829 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,904,840,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,342 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $38.96 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.40 and a 200-day moving average of $42.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The company has a market capitalization of $164.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company had revenue of $33.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.1%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 58.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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).