Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,919,080 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 219,143 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $342,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 37,516,167 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $661,720,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 737.5% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $530,576,000 after buying an additional 10,300,369 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 301.2% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,504,920 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $385,750,000 after acquiring an additional 6,385,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 31,626,373 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,434,572,000 after acquiring an additional 5,392,416 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $41.22 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.80 billion, a PE ratio of 8.81, a P/E/G 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. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. The business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. BNP Paribas Exane lowered 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. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average 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).