Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,630,804 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 70,780 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $71,514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 3,973,874 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $174,652,000 after purchasing an additional 125,208 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in Verizon Communications by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 308,343 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $13,552,000 after buying an additional 54,039 shares during the last quarter. Birch Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Birch Financial Group LLC now owns 14,439 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,969 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.9% in the third quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,736 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $560,000 after acquiring an additional 1,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gibbs Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 22.9% during the third quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 69,303 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,046,000 after acquiring an additional 12,916 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $39.53 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $166.68 billion, a PE ratio of 8.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.34. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted 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 company had revenue of $33.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 58.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.07.

About Verizon Communications

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.