Delta Financial Group Inc. Has $3.49 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Delta Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,014 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 321 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up about 0.8% of Delta Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Delta Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,801,282,000 after acquiring an additional 4,951,733 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,893,487 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,555,351,000 after acquiring an additional 4,568,518 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 36,851,192 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,473,557,000 after purchasing an additional 990,775 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,418,052 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,096,447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348,389 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $792,937,000 after purchasing an additional 6,846,514 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ opened at $42.84 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $180.63 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Company 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).