Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Increases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 388,839 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 22,157 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $17,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Hudock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the second quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 39,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 8,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 71,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,144,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Camden National Bank lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 5,666 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VZ shares. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. BNP Paribas downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective 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, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.47.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $39.83 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.13. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The company has a market capitalization of $167.92 billion, a PE ratio of 8.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.