Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $5.46 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 126,700 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,227 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,462,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $39.77 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.60 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 $167.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect 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. 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 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Bank of America increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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).