Candriam S.C.A. Acquires 9,174 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 422,583 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,174 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $18,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,430,000. Hudock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the second quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 39,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 641,593 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,762,000 after acquiring an additional 28,199 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 77,691 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 100,326,792 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,322,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101,504 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on VZ. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. BNP Paribas cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:VZ opened at $41.10 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $41.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.97%.

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).