Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 45,475,099 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 431,789 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,062,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $44.24 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $186.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $42.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.98. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VZ. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.35.

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).