Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ is LSV Asset Management’s 7th Largest Position

LSV Asset Management lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,966,540 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 161,073 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 1.2% of LSV Asset Management’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. LSV Asset Management owned about 0.28% of Verizon Communications worth $517,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Advantage Trust Co grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $30,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $41.03 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. 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 50 day moving average of $41.53 and a 200 day moving average of $42.61.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VZ. TD Cowen decreased their target price 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 cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently 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).